The 3000 Club Welcomes...

Albert Pujols... Friday night's pair of hits against the Mariners at Safeco Field made him the 32nd player -- and just the second native of the Dominican -- to join that exclusive circle. #3000 was a single off Seattle's Mike Leake in the 5th inning; #3001 come in the 9th inning and drove in a pair as the Angels rolled to a 5-0 victory.
Now in his 18th season, the 10-time all star and three-time NL MVP isn't the same player who might have had the greatest under-30 career ever. But he remains a productive run producer, with more than 100 RBI the last two seasons. Pretty good for a 13th round draft pick from a junior college.
All the cheers around Anaheim will still never completely mask the fact that Pujols left behind a stellar St. Louis legacy for the bigger bucks of Southern California. Number-5 was compiling stats and titles that ranked him just below Stan Musial among everyday players on the Cardinals Mount Rushmore. In Orange County, he's just another talented free agent who played the later stages of his career across the street from Disneyland.
While Pujols has never bathed in the media spotlight the way other players from other franchises have, you have to wonder if he has second thoughts for making that move.





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