You Do NOT Want to Mess With Albert Pujols

Not only did the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the San Diego Padres last night, but Cards 1B Albert Pujols was responsible for knocking out two Padres players in the same inning.

First, Pujols was batting in the top of the third with 1 out and two on. He reached out and lined a ball straight back up the middle that bounced off of Padres' pitcher Chris Young's face (see video below). OUCH. Young was down on the field for several minutes and finally was able to walk off under his own power, bloodied and bruised. It looked like the ball broke Young's nose.

Then, later in the inning, Pujols was sliding into home (he was safe) when his front foot collided with Padres catcher Josh Bard's foot. The result? A sprained ankle for Bard, who had to be helped from the field.

For his part, Pujols was pretty shaken up over what happened:

"It bothers you, because you don't want to hit somebody and mess with somebody's career," Pujols said. "It's the same as a pitcher throwing to you in the head, or a ball coming at your head. You don't want anything to happen like that. It can pretty much ruin your career."

"How many times does that happen?" Pujols wondered. "In one inning, two guys get hurt by one player. It was a tough night. I'm excited we got the win, but I'm kind of bummed. Hopefully they don't lose Josh for a long time."

If I were an employee of the Padres today, I'd be commissioning an investigation so as to ascertain who pissed Pujols off. The guy is already a freak of nature; now he's just toying with his opponents, picking them off one by one. The National League better beware.

And now, the video:



MLB.com: Pujols Shaken by Padres Injuries