Before the 2022 season, Albert Pujols announced that it would be his last as a big leaguer. Pujols, who spent most of the 2021 season with the Dodgers, signed to spend his last year with the Cardinals, the team he spent his first 11 seasons with.
Pujols had a better year than anyone could have hoped for, batting .270 with an .895 OPS in part-time duty. He hit his 700th homer off Phil Bickford at Dodger Stadium in September and finished the year with 703 career homers, fourth-most in major-league history behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth.