RetroSimba

(Updated Nov. 30, 2024)

Stan Musial and Albert Pujols are the only players to hit 400 home runs as Cardinals. Musial hit 475 home runs in 22 seasons (1941-1944 and 1946-1963) with the Cardinals. Pujols hit 469 home runs in 12 seasons (2001-2011 and 2022) with St. Louis.

Pujols was 30 when he hit his 400th home run on Aug. 26, 2010 _ a solo shot against Jordan Zimmerman of the Nationals at Washington.

Musial was 38 when he slugged No. 400 _ and he did it in dramatic fashion.

On May 7, 1959, at St. Louis, the Cubs and Cardinals were deadlocked, 3-3, heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.

Don Elston, a veteran right-hander, was beginning his second inning in relief of Cubs starter Moe Drabowsky. Leading off the ninth for St. Louis was Musial.

Musial had gotten off to a slow start that season. He was hitting .268 with one home run.

Elston was a hard thrower and one of the best relievers in the National League _ he would be named to the all-star team in 1959 _ but Musial was ready. He lined a 1-and-0 fastball over the 400-foot mark in right-center field for a walkoff home run, giving the Cardinals a 4-3 win. His second homer of the season was No. 400 in his career. Boxscore

After the ball cleared the wall, it caromed back onto the field. Center fielder George Altman, unaware of the historic significance of the home run, retrieved the ball and tossed it back among the fans, the Chicago Tribune reported. “We wanted to send that one to the Hall of Fame,” said Cardinals publicist Jim Toomey.

No. 400 put Musial sixth all-time in career home runs. The top five at the time were Babe Ruth (714), Jimmie Foxx (534), Mel Ott (511), Lou Gehrig (493) and Ted Williams (482).

In the book “Voices From Cooperstown,” Musial told author Anthony J. Connor, “That homer swing was something I learned with experience. When I was young, I used to punch the ball around to left and left-center and not try to pull.

“As years passed, I gained confidence and learned to pull the ball when I wanted to go for power. Ralph Kiner came up in the late 1940s and started to hit home runs, more than anyone else, and pretty soon he was getting more money than anyone else. Well, that got me thinking. After 1947, 1948, I started swinging for the fences.”