SI NOW
500TH EPISODE
ALBERT PUJOLS
SI Now celebrated its 500th episode last Thursday by welcoming a few big names who could relate, including the Angels' nine-time All Star, who belted home run number 500 in April 2014.
TOM VERDUCCI:In the 1999 draft you lasted into the 13th round. Do you still have a chip on your shoulder?
ALBERT PUJOLS: You give me chills when you mention that; I was really disappointed. I wanted to quit baseball for a minute. I came back crying and told my wife, "I remember when I was in the D.R., I could have signed for 30 pairs of batting gloves; I just wanted to play baseball." I gave myself a three-year shot: If I don't make it to the big leagues, then I quit. I use that. There were a couple of people in the Cardinals' organization that said I was just a draft-and-follow guy, that I wasn't going to make it.
TV:When did Tony La Russa tell you that you'd made the club?
AP: I found out first from my family. They were blowing my phone up with congratulations. I remember my first base hit in Colorado, against Mike Hampton. I went 1 for 9 in that series and was like, Here we go. Then I got [eight] RBIs in the next series. I remember because I like to watch my highlights, just look at my swings.
TV:Thirteen years later home runs numbers 499 and 500, in the same game. I heard you actually called it, hitting two?
AP: It was one of those feelings; I was swinging the bat well. I told my wife, "You better get to Washington." When I look at that highlight, I just look at my teammates walking from the dugout.
TV:How high can you go?
AP: I've got seven years left in my contract. Maybe when I'm done it's 700 ... 750.
For more of Pujols's interview, plus the SI Now archive, go to SI.com/videos
"It was one of those feelings. I told my wife, 'You better get to Washington.'"
—Albert Pujols
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STEPHEN DUNN/GETTY IMAGES (PUJOLS)
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GENE J. PUSKAR/AP (DUQUETTE)
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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (SMITH)
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TIM SHARP/AP (ANDRETTIS)
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