Pujols is a highly regarded hitter who has long shown a "combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power.

[12] Playing shortstop, he batted .461 with 22 home runs as a freshman before deciding to enter the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.

[17] Pujols also played 21 games with the Potomac Cannons in the high-A Carolina League that year, batting .284 with 23 hits, eight doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBI.

[7][18][19] During spring training in 2001, incumbent first baseman Mark McGwire told Cardinals manager Tony La Russa that if he did not promote Pujols to the major league roster, "it might be one of the worst moves you make in your career.

According to La Russa, he and the rest of Cardinals management were impressed enough by Pujols that they decided to promote him to the big league club even before Bonilla's injury.

[11][38] The following month, Pujols hit a game-winning two-run single against Pete Munro in a 9–3 victory over the Houston Astros that gave the Cardinals the NL Central title.

[59][60] Pujols' highlights later in the season included a July game in which he hit five RBI and three home runs in a thrilling win over the rival Chicago Cubs, and another in which he broke up a no-hitter by Giants pitcher Dustin Hermanson.

The grand slam was also his 350th career home run, making him the third-fastest player to reach the milestone, behind Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.[115] He received the highest number of votes in NL history for the All-Star Game that year.

Aided by the mid-season acquisition of Matt Holliday (who replaced Ryan Ludwick as the cleanup hitter) and the emergence of Adam Wainwright (who led the NL in wins), the Cardinals returned to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus.

[135] Pujols and the Cardinals set a deadline for the start of 2011 spring training for contract extension negotiations[136] but failed to reach an agreement.

"[140] On June 19 against the Royals, Wilson Betemit collided with Pujols, inducing a small fracture his left wrist and keeping him inactive until July 5.

[11][145] He saw his streak of seasons batting at least .300 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI snapped when he hit 37 home runs (third, behind Fielder's 38 and Kemp's 39), but batted .299 with 99 RBI (seventh); however, only three other players in the major leagues matched him in those categories (José Bautista, Fielder, and Kemp), causing Tyler Kepner of The New York Times to write, "Even when Pujols struggles, he excels.

His wife, Deidre, explained on a radio talk show that they were "insulted" and "confused" that the Cardinals had initially offered Pujols a five-year deal.

[159] Soon after the Angels called up top prospect Mike Trout and fired hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, Pujols' numbers began to rise, as he batted .323 with 13 home runs from May 15 through the All-Star Break.

He's a great hitter...."[164] On August 14, Pujols had four RBIs, including a game-winning three-run home run against Ubaldo Jiménez in a 9–6 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

[167] In August 2013, on his St. Louis WGNU radio show, former Cardinals player Jack Clark accused Pujols of having used performance-enhancing drugs.

[168] Partly due to legal threats from Pujols, InsideSTL Enterprises, which owns WGNU's weekday airtime under a time brokerage agreement, cut ties with Clark.

In the process, he became the fifth player in major league history with 2,500 hits and 500 home runs while maintaining a .310 lifetime batting average, after Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Manny Ramirez.

[194] He was the fourth-youngest player to achieve the feat (behind Alex Rodriguez, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron), and the first to hit a grand slam for his 600th home run.

[198][4] On July 12, Pujols hit his 630th career home run, moving into a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. for sixth place all-time for that category.

[205] On May 9, 2019, Pujols became the fourth player in major league history to record 2,000 RBIs, hitting a solo home run against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

In an August 7, 2018, article entitled "How the shift has ruined Albert Pujols," ESPN sportswriter Alden Gonzalez wrote: "The recent proliferation of defensive shifts has made it exceedingly difficult for power hitters to turn batted balls into hits, prompting an infatuation with launch angles and breeding a widespread acceptance of strikeouts.

Few have been victimized more than Pujols, the aging slugger who still makes frequent contact but no longer runs well... [T]he modern game is especially unforgiving to older hitters, and it has intensified the decline of arguably the greatest first baseman in baseball history.

[239] On June 4 against the Chicago Cubs, he became the 10th major league player to play 3,000 games, appearing as an injury replacement for Corey Dickerson.

[241] On July 10, after the Philadelphia Phillies had shut out the Cardinals in three straight games, Pujols made a rare start against a right-handed pitcher, and his three hits, including a home run, helped spark a 4–3 win.

[242] Pujols was chosen to be on the National League team for the All-Star Game by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred as a "legacy" selection to honor his career achievements.

[246] On August 22, he was named the National League Player of the Week alongside teammate Paul Goldschmidt after hitting .615 with three home runs and seven RBIs.

[248] On September 10 and 11, Pujols hit his 696th and 697th home runs, at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates, to move into fourth place on the all-time list.

[326] Pujols has taken several trips to the Dominican Republic, by taking supplies as well as a team of doctors and dentists to the poor who need medical care.

[citation needed] The Pujols Family Foundation also holds an annual golf tournament to raise money to send dentists to the Dominican Republic.