THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL July 20: Albert Pujols blasts 3 HR in 5-for-5, 5 RBI game
Albert Pujols was just 24 but already a superstar when on this day in béisbol, July 20, 2004 the St. Louis slugger carried the team on his broad back in a thrilling comeback victory over the rival Cubs at Wrigley Field. Playing first and batting third, Pujols hit three home runs off three different pitchers and added a run-scoring double in the first inning to kickstart a 5-for-5 day. With the Cards down 7-1 after only two innings, Pujols hit solo homers in the third and seventh innings to help get St. Louis back in the game. Then with the
A Sizzling Yordan Alvarez named ALCS MVP, carries Astros into the 2021 World Series
Yordan Alvarez is using the 2021 postseason to prove what the Houston Astros have known all along: The 24-year-old slugger from Las Tunas, Cuba, is one of the best young hitters in the game despite a rocky start to his career. A year after missing all but two games of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season due to surgery on both knees, Alvarez — the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year — is putting a bright, beautiful bow on his comeback campaign with a torrid postseason. He was named the AL Championship Series MVP on Friday after the Astros beat the Boston
El Mundo de Las Grandes Ligas Podcast Joins LatinoBaseball.com
LatinoBaseball.com is proud to announce that sportscasting industry veterans Felix DeJesus and Kevin Cabral will be joining the team as we syndicate their podcast, “El Mundo de Las Grandes Ligas.” The popular podcast is already broadcast worldwide and on MLB.com, and moving forward you will be able to find their weekly episodes posted here as well. You can also access their catalog of previous episodes to catch up on anything you may have missed. Both of these powerhouses have joined forces to bring you insightful commentary on the happenings each week in baseball. Felix DeJesus is the producer of the
David vs. Goliath: Altuve beats out Judge for AL MVP
Size doesn’t matter. At least not in baseball. Jose Altuve, the Houston Astros’ dynamic — and diminutive — second baseman, handily beat out Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees’ gentle giant, for the American League MVP honor announced Thursday night. But it was hardly a David vs. Goliath battle to see which of the two heavily-favored players would be the one to bring home the hardware for most valuable player. It was no surprise the 27-year-old Altuve, who is generously listed at 5 feet, 6 inches, um, tall — he’s the shortest player in the game — added his first
He finally put a ring on it: Beltran retires as World Series winner
Carlos Beltran was always a winner, but he went out a champion. After a formidable 20 year-career and enough stellar stats to get the Hall of Fame argument rolling, the Puerto Rico-born outfielder/DH decided to hang up his spikes after using his bat – and baseball brains –- to help the Houston Astros win their first-ever World Series championship this past season. The 40-year-old Beltran announced his retirement on Nov. 13, admitting he made the decision to call it a career during the middle of the 2017 season regardless of how far the Astros went in the playoffs. “At the beginning
Carlos Carrasco wins 2019 Roberto Clemente Award
Carlos Carrasco’s remarkable comeback from a cancer diagnosis to take the mound again for the Cleveland Indians wasn’t the only feel-good moment in the right-hander’s roller-coaster 2019 season. On Oct. 25, the Venezuelan native received the 2019 Roberto Clemente Award, the annual honor named for the Pittsburgh Pirates icon from Puerto Rico killed in a 1972 plane crash while bringing aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The award is given to a player who displays “extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions both on and off the field,” according to MLB, and the 32-year-old pitcher certainly lives up to
Star Spotlight: Miguel Cabrera
The 2022 season was the worst of Miguel Cabrera’s otherwise stellar career, but the Detroit Tigers slugger wasn’t about to let injuries and age force him to call it a day. Cabrera, 39, was limited to 112 games, during which the career .308 hitter and 500 home run club member only had 5 dingers and a .254 average. But the Venezuela native vowed to return in 2023 for the last year of his contract, hopeful that a return to health will equate to a solid year at the plate as he caps off a Cooperstown-bound career. Yet this past season,
Star Spotlight: Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols’ Hall of Fame-worthy career may not have ended in fairy-tale fashion, but the 42-year-old slugger did get to enjoy a dream final season. While his return to the Cardinals in 2022 ended with St. Louis losing the NL Wild Card series to the Phillies, Pujols had a remarkable resurgence in the last half of the season to cap his brilliant 22-year career — highlighted by his becoming only the fourth member of the 700 home run club. The Dominican-born superstar known as “The Machine” cemented his legacy as one of the greatest hitters ever when he bashed Nos.
