Albert Pujols Returns for Final Cardinals Training

Pujols has one season left in him.

Pujols has one season left in him.

On Monday, during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros, fans were surprised by an unannounced appearance by three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols. Pujols has announced that he will be participating in spring training with the Cardinals, and will be playing with the team for one more season before he retires from baseball for good at the end of 2022.

“This is it for me,” Pujols, 42, said Monday. “This is my last run.”

“Seldom does one get to share in watching or being a part of ‘living’ history,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “From the day we called Albert’s name in the draft room back in 1999, to now, as we set our sights on 2022, this reunion just makes sense in so many ways.

“We are all looking forward to reuniting Albert with his Cardinals family, and for the fan in all of us, including myself, this feels like looking through the pages of a favorite scrapbook or baseball card album and seeing those images and memories jump off the pages.”

The contract between the Cardinals and Pujols for this last season will net him a $2.5 million paycheck.