How Albert Pujols is using his final season to mentor a budding St. Louis Cardinals slugger

CHICAGO — Walking into the Major League clubhouse for the first time can be an intimidating experience for any rookie. For John Yepezwho joined the St.Louis Cardinals on May 3 after spending the first month of the season in Triple-A Memphis, he was about to join a locker room filled with some of the biggest stars in the game. Fortunately, he had a friendly face waiting to greet him as he walked the visitors’ side of Kauffman Stadium before his major league debut a day later: Albert Pujols.

“Look around you, there are all these future Hall of Famers that we have,” Yepez said earlier this week. “But when they called me in Kansas City, the first person who saw me was Albert. He gave me a big hug and said it was good to have me here.

“That meant everything to me.”

Pujols has been many things to baseball: Slugger. MVP. Gold Glove winner. World Series Champion. But in his final season, the role of mentor is the one he’s taking on more than ever. Even in a leadership-laden Cardinals clubhouse, no one commands more respect than the 22-year MLB veteran. Now, as a part-time player, Pujols has more time to work with the younger players on the team.

“This role that I have is to do everything I can to help this team,” Pujols said. “It’s about making a mark. A lot of people did it for me. It’s almost like repaying these people for that favor.”

Pujols, 42, is the oldest player in the majors. He is more than a decade older than most players on the Cardinals roster (an average age of 29.4 is not only posed by Pujols, but also by the 39-year-old Yadier Molina and 40 years Adam Wainwrightalso).

“We knew bringing him in would help this clubhouse,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He’s very intentional in conveying what it’s like to beat young players. The reality is that they’re all young compared to him.”

But the one who caught Pujols’ attention this spring was Yepez, a 24-year-old whose journey to the majors began when he joined the Atlanta Braves Coming from Venezuela in 2015. Pujols took note of his work ethic, understanding of the game and mindset of never taking things for granted.

Immersing in all of Pujols’ advice has paid off for Yepez so far: During his first month in the big leagues, he posted a .796 OPS and hit four home runs while seeing time at first base, both in the corner outfield as in the designated hitter.

But the moment that stands out most for Yepez was off the field during Pujols’ annual charity golf event on May 26, three weeks into Yepez’s major league career.

“He met my fiancée and told her he was going to break all her records,” Yepez said. “I was like ‘What? Are you crazy? I’ve looked at your numbers, they’re impossible to break.’

“I wasn’t kidding. I think he has the talent and the ability to do it,” Pujols said. “I think he can do it. I see the dedication and the work he puts in day in and day out.”

Pujols has done more than boost Yepez’s confidence: He’s also willing to play the role of teacher when the moment calls for it, breaking down at-bats on his iPad and then heading to the batting cages to put his findings into action.

“He’s taken the time to teach me and talk to me every day,” Yepez said. “He’s watching my at-bats and looking at the iPad and he’s like, ‘You have to do this or that.

“He tells me what he thinks might work for me, then we work on it and it usually works.”

Pujols is also reaping the benefits of interacting with so many new faces in the place where he spent his first decade as a major leaguer.

“You’re never too old or too young to learn,” the Cardinals outfielder said. Corey Dickerson. “He’s very knowledgeable. He studies. He asks questions. He gets other people’s opinions. For someone of that stature to be like that is why he’s so good.”

Sure, it’s early on in what Pujols announced during spring training would be his final season in the big leagues, but so far he’s thriving as both the oldest statesman in the clubhouse and a powerful hitter/DH of the platoon since The bench.

Pujols has an OPS of over 1,000 against left-handed pitching. He also has four home runs and on Tuesday beat the Padres with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning. The final moment gave Pujols a chance to display his own youthful exuberance to his teammates.

“He was laughing his high-pitched laugh as we jumped on him,” the outfielder said. Harrison Bader. “I’ll remember that high-pitched laugh and that grin from ear to ear, showing all your teeth. It shows you, it’s just child’s play and it’s hard to keep that perspective. Albert reminds us of that.”

“You have to have fun,” Pujols said. “I’m lucky to be back here, where it all started.”

Celebrations in May and June are nice, but the goal in St. Louis is to play in October, just like the 2001 Cardinals did when Pujols showed up and walked into a clubhouse with stars like Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds. Even if one of his current teammates was too young to remember the teams that made the postseason in five of Pujols’ first six major league seasons, he’ll remember the impact a St. Louis legend has had on the start of his own career.

“As long as I’ve been alive, Albert Pujols has been playing baseball,” Yepez said with a smile. “He broke in when I was 3 years old!

“For him to say all these nice things about me, it’s just amazing.”

We want to give thanks to the author of this article for this incredible content

How Albert Pujols is using his final season to mentor a budding St. Louis Cardinals slugger