The Atlantic

A Glorious Milestone for Albert Pujols

In reaching his 3,000th career hit Friday night, the Los Angeles Angels first baseman gave fans a chance to remember his historic greatness.
Source: Jennifer Buchanan / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Today’s Los Angeles Angels are stocked with sensations. They have Mike Trout, the consensus best player in the world. Shohei Ohtani, the two-way star who makes history seemingly every week. Andrelton Simmons, one of the most impressive defensive players of this century. And somewhere down the list, lost among his of-the-moment teammates, Albert Pujols, the man who not long ago thumped so many home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals that fans judged him not against his peers, but against baseball’s all-time greats.

It can be easy to forget now that Pujols, officially listed as 38 years old but to be older than that, has been diminished to a one-dimensional role player, but

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