In Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS, the St. Louis Cardinals were one out away from elimination.
They were trailing the Houston Astros in the series, 3-1.
Advertisement
However, Albert Pujols saved the day with his epic home run off of Brad Lidge that gave St. Louis a 5-4 lead.
St. Louis held on to win and force Game 6.
Now retired from baseball, Pujols has joined MLB Network as an analyst.
On Tuesday, he spoke with former MLB pitcher Al Leiter and discussed his epic home run off of Lidge, explaining his thought process in the moment and what worked for him.
Pujols swung at a first-pitch slider from Lidge in his at-bat in the top of the ninth inning of Game 5.
The future Hall-of-Famer said that he knew Lidge’s best pitch at the time was his slider, despite him being able to touch the upper 90s with his fastball.
Pujols recalled being completely fooled by the first pitch, but ultimately coming to realize that Lidge would go back to it.
The three-time MVP said at that point, he knew what was coming and that he had Lidge right where he wanted him.
Advertisement
Of course, everybody knows what happened next.
Pujols received an 0-1 slider from Lidge and hit one of the most legendary home runs in Cardinals history, saving them from the brink of elimination.
The ball hit the train tracks in the rafters at Minute Maid Park and left the crowd stunned in disbelief before the Cardinals completed their comeback to force Game 6.
The Oakland Athletics and their ownership have shown their hand by now.
Their intention is to be playing games in Las Vegas by 2028.
Advertisement
To do that, however, they need Nevada lawmakers to approve their funding plan to build a new stadium on the Las Vegas strip.
That still hasn’t happened.
“Late last night, Nevada ended its legislative session without voting on a bill to fund a new Vegas stadium for the A’s. Gov. Joe Lombardo is expected to call for a special session of the Legislature Tuesday morning,” Front Office Sports tweeted.
Late last night, Nevada ended its legislative session without voting on a bill to fund a new Vegas stadium for the A’s.
Gov. Joe Lombardo is expected to call for a special session of the Legislature Tuesday morning.
The clock is ticking, as the A’s need approval by the lawmakers soon if their plan is to be fulfilled.
The team has been looking to move from the Oakland-Alameda County Stadium for years.
As long as there is no agreement to build the stadium in Las Vegas, the move from Oakland won’t take place.
According to Front Office Sports, should the move to Las Vegas fail to pan out, Oakland mayor Sheng Thao has stated that she remains ready to negotiate with the team.
A’s ownership doesn’t feel like the franchise has a future in Oakland because people don’t go to the stadium, but in reality, they haven’t done much to draw them in either.
Advertisement
In any case, there are several cities willing to absorb the responsibility of having an MLB franchise.
In fact, Orlando and Salt Lake City have serious projects in place.
The saga continues, and will keep going on until the A’s find a new home.
The New York Yankees weren’t at their best in the period ranging from 2010 to 2015.
They always had a positive record but didn’t always seriously contend.
Advertisement
Things started to change on this day, but 10 years ago, when they drafted the player that would graduate into one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball in 2017: Aaron Judge.
The Yankees drafted Aaron Judge with the #32 overall pick ten years ago today pic.twitter.com/TDfvocttGd
