On July 18, Albert Pujols entered Dodger Stadium with a big night ahead of him. He was in Los Angeles as a home run derby participant, a legacy All-Star selection and, at the time, a .215 hitter for the year. His surprise run to the semifinals of the derby after beating Kyle Schwarber in a swing-off was a perfect note to highlight the midpoint of a swan song season, one that didn’t seem likely to feature many more moments of the 42-year-old stealing the spotlight.
Six weeks later, all of that has changed.
Pujols has not only turned his season around for the Cardinals, but he’s morphed into one of the league’s most productive hitters for a title-contending team seemingly overnight.