#8

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Full Name:
 

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara​

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Nicknames:

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"Prince Albert", "Big Al", "The Machine", "Sir Albert", "El hombre", "Phat Albert"

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He does not like being called "El Hombre". 

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Born:  
   

January 16, 1980 

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

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Family:  

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Grandmother: America Pujols
Father: Bienvenido
Spouse: Deidre (Dee Dee)
Cousin: Wilfrido (Wil) Pujols

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His family immigrated to New York City in 1996 then moved to Independence, Missouri.

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He and his wife were married on January 1, 2000.

 

His wife is 3 years older than him. The pair met at Salsa Club in Kansas.

 

Friends:  

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Plácido Polanco (Pujol's is the godfather to his son).

 

Robinson Cano

 

Phil Caldarella - high school friend.

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School:  

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Fort Osage High School, Independence, Missouri.
Coach: Dave Fry
Mascot: Indians
Rival: Staley High School

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1997 - He played for the Hi-Boy Drive In/Post 340 American Legion team (coach: Gary Stone).

Maple Woods Community College
Maple Woods Monarchs Baseball
Coach: Marty Kilgore

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Baseball Related:

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A scout named Fernando Arango urged Tampa Bay to sign Pujols and Arango quit his job when they failed to do so.

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1999 - Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals (402nd pick).

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1999 - Played for the Hays Larks of the Jayhawk Collegiate League (a summer league in the National Baseball Congress).

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2001 - April 2nd - Major League debut with the St. Louis Cardinals.

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2004 - Signed a 7-year contract extension with St. Louis ($100 million).

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2012 - Signed a 10-year deal with the Angels ($254 million).

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Extra:

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Throughout his childhood playing baseball and early career there were concerns he was much older than he said he was.

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Comment from a reader: "I have family in the K.C. area, and visit there every year. One time I got into a long conversation with a hotel manager who told me he umpired quite a few of Albert’s game in the late ‘90s—both high school and American Legion, IIRC. He said he knew the scouts, coaches, and the other players, and he swears by this: He and everybody he knew was convinced Pujols wasn’t really a teenager. According to this guy, the consensus in K.C. by 1999 was that Pujols was an adult who, for whatever reasons, chose to play baseball against kids. The fact he was bottom-heavy, balding, and in a relationship with an older woman who had a special-needs child may have contributed to that impression as well."

 

Pujols was held back a year in high school because he did not speak English.

 

He scored a perfect 100 on his United States citizenship test (2007).

He owned a restaurant called "St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Grill" in Westport Plaza of Maryland Heights, Missouri. When he went to the Angels it was renamed. The original name was, "Pujols 5 Westport Grill". Since his move the restaurant appears to have closed down.

 

When he played in St. Louis he attended West County Community Church in Wildwood, Missouri.

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Sample Heckles:

 

"Albert how old are you? Why are you lying to everyone?"​

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Heckle him on twitter:

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@PujolsFive

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