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Pujols, Papi HRs remind us of their greatness
- Updated: August 25, 2016
First Albert Pujols, then David Ortiz. Two majestic home runs, two moments to savor and celebrate, eight minutes apart Wednesday night. Two opportunities to be reminded how lucky we’ve been to watch these guys play baseball. Sometimes, the baseball gods deliver more than we deserve.
We see them now, Ortiz, 40, and Pujols, 36, and are awash in memories of postseason heroics and times when they held their cities — and their sport — in the palm of their hands.
They’ve helped define baseball in so many ways, and now they’re at a special point in their careers — Pujols in his 16th season, Ortiz in his 20th and final one — where almost every hit carves out a bit more history and further defines their greatness.
So it was on Wednesday.
In the top of the first inning in Toronto, Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada got an 86-mph cutter down in the strike zone. Down but not down enough. That’s Pujols’ wheelhouse, and his swing looked nearly effortless as the baseball soared toward left-center field, clearing the wall by a few feet.
This is one he’s likely to remember long after he’s done. It was the 584th of his career and pushed him past friend and former teammate Mark McGwire and alone in 10th place on the all-time list.
Pujols’ teammates had just finished their celebration when, 1,100 miles away in St. Petersburg, Fla., Tampa Bay Rays starter Matt Andriese threw Ortiz a first-pitch curveball with a runner on base in the top of the first at Tropicana Field.
It was as if Ortiz had spent the entire day planning for the pitch. He leaned into it and launched it comfortably toward right field for his 30th home run of the season, a moonshot that landed well past leaping Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr.
Ortiz pointed skyward as he …
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