‘Mount Rushmore of sluggers’: Albert Pujols becomes only 4th player in history to hit 700 HRs

St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols has entered baseball’s most exclusive club, slugging the 700th home run of his storied career to join Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds as the only players to reach that milestone.

Pujols, 42, playing the final season of his storied career, clobbered No. 699 and No. 700 in back-to-back innings against his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, triggering a warm celebration that swept teammates, opponents and fans to their feet in tribute.

“This is like the Mount Rushmore of sluggers, so to reach that 700-home run mark, it’s remarkable,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Associated Press.

Pujols, a certain Hall of Famer, joins Aaron as the only two hitters in Major League Baseball to reach 3,000 hits and 700 homers.

He humbly accepted the showering of respect, sending a hug to the fans in the stands but saying afterwards winning for his teammates has always been more important to him than reaching personal milestones. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I know where my places stand in this game, but since Day One when I made my debut, I was never about numbers, never about chasing numbers,” Pujols said. “It was always about winning championships and tried to get better in these games.”

The Cardinals won the game in fitting fashion by a score of 11-0.