fbpx

Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols Retires: ‘All Glory To The Lord’

Photo from St. Louis Cardinal’s Official Instagram

Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols Retires: ‘All Glory To The Lord’

By Movieguide® Staff

Future Hall of Fame MLB player Albert Pujols recently announced his retirement after the St. Louis Cardinals exited the playoffs in an Oct. 8 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pujols played 12 seasons with the Cardinals and also played for the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The announcement of his final game in the league comes after Pujols’ recent record of breaking 700 career home runs in 22 seasons. Pujols’ final tally was 703.

“When you have good people around you and they are encouraging you and you realize that God has opened so many doors for you, man, it puts things back into perspective,” Pujols told MLB.com of his batting slump a couple of years ago. “I decided, ‘I’m going to stick with it.’ I knew sooner or later it was going to come and turn around for me, because it can’t be like it was all year long.”

Despite their loss in the Wild Card game against the Phillies, Pujol continued to give God the glory, something he practiced throughout his successful career.

“All the glory goes to the Lord, not just me,” he said. “He opened the door for me to come here. All I did, even through my struggles, was just stay faithful and strong and continue to trust my process that it might work out. I waited for my opportunity. That came and I just took advantage and did whatever I had to do to help this organization win.”

After leaving the field for the final time, Pujols leaves a legacy as one of the best hitters in baseball history; fourth best, behind baseball greats Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth.

Pujols also earned 2 Gold Glove awards, 3 MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year award, 6 Silver Slugger awards, 1 League Championship MVP award, and 2 World Series, one in 2006 and one in 2011.

Movieguide® previously reported on Pujols’ faith:

Despite his legendary status, Pujols is an outspoken Christian and showed gratitude to God for his ability to play baseball at the highest level.

“He’s given me this platform,” Pujols said. “He’s given me the power and the strength to play this game, this game that I love. I think at the end of the day, you need to put work into [hitting], whether it’s with the iPad, whether it’s in the cage, in the weight room. I’m just glad I’m able to do that and help this ball club to win.”

At Christian Day in St. Louis this past July, the future hall-of-fame player said he was thankful for the ability to close out his career in St. Louis.

“This is a great opportunity that God has given me to finish my career,” Pujols said. “This is where everything started for me. When Mo called me and Oli, I couldn’t believe it. The next day I was signing and in a plane going down to spring training. Just excited to be here. Hopefully I’ll finish my career strong and win a championship for the city of St. Louis.”

“As a Christian, it’s tough to walk on this earth,” Pujols continued. “But we know, at the end of the day, we represent the King, and He loves us so much. That’s why He died on the cross — so we can have eternal life one day with Him. So that’s my focus every single day when I walk.

“I thank the Lord. I just try to come here and perform for you guys, but I know that I’m performing for Him first. He’s first in my life and everything that I try to do in this game is to glorify Him.”