José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (Spanish pronunciation: [puˈxols]; born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Nicknamed “The Machine”, he played his first 11 seasons in MLB for the Cardinals, then played with the Los Angeles Angels for more than nine seasons before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers for half a season.
With St. Louis, Pujols has been a three-time National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) (2005, 2008, 2009) and nine-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010). After joining the Angels in 2012, he made one All-Star appearance, in 2015.
On May 17, 2021, Pujols agreed to a one-year major league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his Dodgers debut that night as the starting first baseman against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On March 28, 2022, Pujols signed a one-year contract to return to the St. Louis Cardinals, announcing that 2022 would be his final season. On April 12, Pujols hit his first home run as a Cardinal in over 10 years.
On January 1, 2000, Pujols married Deidre Pujols. They have five children: Isabella (Deidre’s previous relationship’s daughter), Albert Jr., Sophia, Ezra, and Esther Grace. Pujols filed for divorce on April 4, 2022, after 22 years of marriage, alleging irreconcilable differences.