Superstar slugger literally welcomed then-teenagers with open arms
Albert Pujols coiled those baseball-launching arms around each of them as teenagers the first time he saw them, using the pistons that launched 698 home runs and counting as Tuesday arrived to melt nerves.
You could be one of the best of your generation — without sealing off the rest of baseball with walls. You could master the roller-coaster of the game’s highs and lows — without sharing the keys to navigating it all with those wearing different uniforms.“What you admire the most of him, what good of a heart he has,” Machado said. “He’s just a person you want to be like. Obviously, I wish I got half of those numbers that he’s put up and what he’s done. You know, that would be a helluva career.
Asked Tuesday if he had seen a photo of the two after facing off, Soto said he had not. Shown the image of Pujols bear-hugging him and lifting him into the air as he radiantly smiled, Soto laughed while reliving the moment.There’s still that youthful admiration for Pujols, as if those snapshots as teenagers have been frozen in time. The grind of the game grizzles more than a few and star power fades.
“It means a lot,” he said. “Just the same path. I just did an interview last Thursday with Pedro Martinez. Those are guys I look up to and guys that opened the door before for myself and so many other athletes.
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