We’ve all heard of him before: the “Great Bambino.” He’s Babe Ruth. Although Babe Ruth is a baseball legend and American icon, even Ruth’s records aren’t immune to being broken.

On May 25th, 1935, at Babe Ruth’s last game, he hit three home runs, bringing his RBI (runs batted in) total to 2,214. More than 87 years later, in a Pittsburgh vs. Cardinals matchup, Albert Pujols hit his 703rd career home run. In the process, he passed Babe Ruth for second pace on the all-time most runs batted in.

In late August, Pujols passed Barry Bonds for hitting the most home runs off of different pitchers. In addition, Pujols played in the “steroid era” of baseball, but remained clean and played fair. On the other hand, Barry Bonds, who holds multiple batting records (most all-time home runs, most home runs in a season, etc.),  used steroids to gain an edge on the competition.

After being released from the Angels after the 2021 season, Pujols was far away from where he is now. He had suffered through injuries and appeared to be in decline. It seemed like the ultimate downfall, and that Pujols would fade away, just like other veterans of the sport whose time had passed. Except that he didn’t do that, not at all.

In a twist of fate, the St. Louis Cardinals picked up Pujols for 2022, and he’s been lighting up the charts ever since. He came close to beating out Babe Ruth, holding 714 home runs to his name, for third most home runs of all time. Earlier in his career, people asked questions about what Albert Pujols could or couldn’t do, but now the question is how far he can go. No matter what, Albert Pujols will forever be remembered as a Cardinal legend. After the 2022 season, fan favorites Molina and Pujols will hang up their cleats and helmets and ride into the sunset, side by side.