Los Angeles Angels: 5 Things you didn’t know about Albert Pujols

What about Albert Pujols’ first-ever college game?

Pujols wanted to stay local and near his family when he went to college. In order to do so, he committed to Maple Woods Community College.

Originally, Pujols played Shortstop for the team because he was so athletic. Everybody knows Pujols as a First Baseman, but he did not become a full-time first baseman in the majors until 2004, spending time at third and in the outfield.

In the first game of his sole college season, Pujols did two things that every kid growing up playing baseball dreams of every doing. Not only did Pujols crush grand slam, but he also turned an unassisted triple play while playing SS.

This was a huge deal. This helped put him on the map. Major league scouts would travel from all over the country came to thing dingey, small-town junior college to learn more about Pujols. He was turning heads across the sport and teams loved him. Playing short, he hit .461 with 22 homeruns as a freshman. He declared for the MLB draft after his 1999 season.

Teams did have a few reservations about Pujols that hurt his draft stock. He was bigger than most people who played shortstop, so his build and what position would he play were major concerns. Also, because he moved around, there were some concerns about his age. Pujols has stated that he was born in 1980, but some people still think Pujols is older than he says he is.

Most people don’t know that Pujols went to college, even though it was just for one year. And even fewer people knew how historic he was in that lone college season.