By Aliot Arzola Lima
Mitch Keller, a 26-year-old pitcher with four seasons of major league experience, stood confidently in front of Albert Pujols on Monday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The right-hander, who was a five-year-old boy when he made his debut in the Dominican majors, grew up watching mercilessly beat any hitter who challenged him on the diamonds, but there was nothing he could do against him. Six previous conflicts.
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In six individual duels, in six official at-bats, Pujols did not achieve a single hit against Keller, who boasted two strikeouts against the legendary Cardinals first baseman. However, “The Machine” didn’t want to leave any pending accounts before saying goodbye to MLB for good, so he let the Pirates pitcher know.
In the sixth inning of Monday’s game between Pittsburgh and St. Louis, Pujols took Keller’s 76-yard curveball with a running back to put his team ahead on the scoreboard. With a count of two strikes and two balls, the Dominican waited patiently for a pitch that hung high over the letters, ready to assassinate him with a devastating swing.
The ball (99.4 miles) bounced into the left field bleachers, where a fan caught it 361 feet from the rubber. In his hands, this lucky man held a treasure: the 703rd home run of Albert Pujols’ illustrious career, surpassing the legendary Babe Ruth with that hit for the second most RBI in major league history.
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The man in the red Cardinals jersey and cap is named Mike Hutcheson, and by his own account, traveled more than 600 miles with the goal of capturing a Pujols home run in the stands.
Hutchins traveled from his hometown of Belleville, Illinois, to PNC Park in Pittsburgh to watch the final games of the slugger’s career from Quisque, with the dream of taking home a historic memento.
“It’s amazing, I don’t have words to describe this moment. I came out here to catch this home run,” Hutchins said in a midgame interview at the Pirates’ home on Monday. Surrounded by dozens of fans who lined up to take pictures with him, the hit was the most memorable of Pujols’ career.
That ball took on an incalculable emotional value from the moment it rolled off the Dominican’s bat. It’s unclear, however, whether Hutcheson will return the treasure to Pujols or follow the same trajectory as the fan who held the ball for Pujols’ 700th home run in Los Angeles.
Various controversies have arisen regarding this in the last few days. A few days ago, when Albert hit Alex Rodriguez for the fourth home run in major league history, two fans at PNC Park in Pittsburgh decided to grab the ball and send it back. As a thank you, Pujols left him the ball as a gift and presented them with other autographed balls.
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