Albert Pujols Reaches 2,000 Career RBI's, Joins Aaron And A-Rod

MLB.com reports:

Albert Pujols knew it the second it left his bat.

Like the future Hall of Famer has done so many times through his storied career, the 39-year-old Pujols went deep in Thursday’s third inning, slamming Ryan Carpenter’s hanging fastball into the left-field stands. He admired his long ball before starting his trot around the bases, and for good reason.

Pujols’ sixth homer of the season made him the third player to reach 2,000 career RBIs and put an exclamation point as the Angels exploded for 16 hits in a 13-0 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park, helping Los Angeles leave the Motor City with the series win.

Pujols’ home run was part of a 1-for-4 day and ended an 0-for-15 skid, which dated back to Saturday. The homer had a projected distance of 415 feet, according to Statcast. It was his 639th, leaving him 21 shy of Willie Mays for fifth all time.

Pujols joined Hank Aaron and Alex Rodriguez as the only members of the 2,000-RBI club, and he could be the only one to join it for some time. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera is the next closest to reaching the feat with 1,649.

• A complete guide to Pujols' 2,000 RBIs

The RBI record book can be bit confusing for a couple of reasons. For starters, RBIs did not become an official statistic until 1920, which means that the Elias Sports Bureau does not consider Babe Ruth and Cap Anson to be members of the 2,000-RBI club, even though you will see them listed as having reached that milestone on certain sites, such as Baseball Reference, which retroactively includes all RBIs accrued prior to 1920. Per Elias, the only players to officially accrue 2,000 RBIs are Aaron, Rodriguez and now Pujols.

• Third place or fifth? Let us explain

Additionally, due to the uncertain nature of record-keeping in the early part of the 20th century, some discrepancies exist between the stats provided today by different historical data providers. For example, some sources list Lou Gehrig as having 1,995 RBIs, while Elias has him at 1,994.

All-time RBI leaders, per the Elias Sports Bureau
1) Hank Aaron: 2,297
2) Alex Rodriguez: 2,086
3) Albert Pujols: 2,000
4) Barry Bonds: 1,996