Albert Pujols hits 400th home run, 3rd youngest to milestone

Albert Pujols, 30, of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 34th home run of the season tonight against the Washington Nationals, giving him 400 home runs for his career. Pujols became the 47th player to reach 400 homers, but was the third-youngest (30, 222 days) to accomplish the feat, trailing Alex Rodriguez (29, 316 days) and Ken Griffey Jr. (30, 141 days).

The Cardinals fell to Washington 11-10 in 13 innings.

Pujols, who has been deemed the best player in the sport for most of the past decade and debuted in 2001, has hit 32 or more home runs each of his 10 seasons in the major leagues. He also has driven in 103 RBIs or more in each of his first 9 seasons, and when he drives in seven more this season (93 so far), he'll become the first major league baseball player to ever have ten consecutive seasons of 30 home runs and 100 RBIs to begin their career.

The three-time National League MVP and nine-time All-Star has become one of the many faces of baseball. His at bats seem unfair to opposing pitchers who fear to pitch to him. They try anyway to try to stop him. Alas, there is no stopping "The Machine."

If Pujols continues this production, and can stay healthy, he could break Barry Bonds' Home Run record of 762* home runs. If Pujols were to break the record, he would be the first player to break Hank Aaron's true record of 755 home runs steroid free, unlike Bonds, an avid roider. If Alex Rodriguez (604 home runs, but was guilty of steroid use) breaks Bonds' record, Pujols could possibly eventually pass his eventual mark as well with a clean record. We could be watching the next home run king in Pujols.

Here's to a long, home run filled, storybook career to Albert Pujols.

Don't take Pujols for granted. He could be the last player we see with this talent for a long time.

*Bonds' 762 home runs passed Aaron, but are considered "tainted" due to his PED use. Many believe Aaron's record of 755 is the true record because it was done fairly. Alex Rodriguez is also a proven steroid user and admitted to so. If Rodriguez passes Bonds' mark, his record would also be "tainted." Pujols could pass both tainted records and be shown in the same light as Aaron.