It’s not everyday that a 22-year veteran takes the field in front of you. 7,845 days as a Major League Baseball player. Swinging a bat (kinda well). Throwing a ball. Signing balls and hats. Smiling for photos with fans. It’s not everyday the field is flooded with (way more than usual) photographers, videographers, and media reporters looking to document what will be some of the last moments of a career. A historic one. 22 seasons. 698 home runs at the time of these photos— and counting. Yes, the whole country was (& still is) counting. They were on their feet every time he walked up to the plate and it didn’t matter what colors they were wearing or what team they were rooting for— they were also rooting for Albert. There were Padres fans, in brown and gold jerseys, holding up red Albert signs: “Thank you for the memories, Pujols!” Cause he’s more than a Cardinals staple— he’s a baseball staple. 7,845 days as a Major League player. Swinging a bat (historically well). Throwing a ball. Signing balls and hats. Smiling for photos with little kids who look at him in awe and adults well past his own age- with awe just the same.⁣ ⁣ 22 years. A few words in a story will never do justice to the amount of experience, expertise, and memories that live inside of him. He stood alone in that on the field, you could tell. He had something no one else did. Time allotted. Wisdom acquired. Home runs logged. ⁣ ⁣ 700 to be exact.⁣ ⁣ A career benchmark shared with only 3 others in Major League Baseball history: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds (heard of ‘em?). While this past week was a small dot on the map of his long journey— I sure am grateful that his road to 700 went through San Diego. So thank you, Pujols, for the memory.⁣ ⁣ All eyes and hearts are on you!! #mlb ⁣