I recently attended the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs game on September 25th, 2011 at Busch Stadium. I brought my 8 year old son who also is becoming a huge Cardinal fan along with me. We also brought along a couple of his friends and one of my buddies. I was a little excited to go because the Cardinals were somewhat in the “hunt” for the playoffs still. It also excited me because it was fan appreciate day and the Cardinals had tons of giveaways. But the biggest reason I went to this game was it may have been the very last game Albert Pujols plays in St. Louis as a St. Louis Cardinal.
This is a big “maybe” of course. Many, including myself, still believe there is a very high chance Albert Pujols signs with the Cardinals in the offseason. But there is that chance he signs elsewhere. And what if? As fans, we absolutely had to treat this game as “el hombres” last game in front of us – on our side. The first time Albert got to the plate nearly brought a tear to my eye. The entire crowd stood and screamed at the top of their lungs for a good 1-2 minutes. Pujols just stood near home plate taking it all in. Removed his hat once to show his appreciation and to settle the crowd down – but they kept going. Cheering on the greatest player many of us have ever seen (and will ever see) in our lifetime. The cheering finally died down but wow – what a moment. This same reception happened every time he came up to bat. One thing is for sure, Albert Pujols KNOWS he is wanted in St. Louis.
Pujols didn’t have a great game statistically but imagine the pressure on this guy right now? All in all, we had a great trip for Albert’s potential last home game. Now since then, the Cardinals have tied the Braves going into game 162 tonight. So there is potential that the Cardinals will play game 163 (tiebreaker) in St. Louis tomorrow. How do fans react towards Pujols? Do they have to do it over again? I think so. Come on St. Louis Cardinal fans. Show this guy how great we think he is. If he does leave – he’ll know he left a very good fan base who wanted him to stay. That is his choice. But it’s our choice to make it known that WE DO WANT ALBERT PUJOLS IN ST. LOUIS!!!