Prospect | Sports fans should never leave early. Albert Pujols just showed us why.

By the time Albert Pujols hit his historic home run Sunday in Pittsburgh, I was on southbound Interstate 79 heading home.

I missed him tattooing a 2–0 pitch in the top of the ninth inning into the distance, toward the skyline and the intensely yellow Roberto Clemente Bridge. I missed the ball landing somewhere beyond right-center and igniting a scramble between three grown men who dive headfirst into the front row for the souvenir. I missed the proud caravan of St. Louis Cardinals fans, my people, going bonkers and turning PNC Park into their Steel City vacation rental.

Their shouts of “Albert! Albert! Albert!” energized an otherwise dreary Sunday, all because they had the privilege of witnessing something special. That ball Pujols hammered drove in the go-ahead runs in the Cardinals’ comeback win; most importantly, it was his 697th home run, the fourth most in Major League Baseball history.

And where was I during this unforgettable moment that those fans will be telling their kids and grandkids about until their dying day? Back in my car, thinking about how, on my deathbed, I’ll be recounting the September afternoon when I missed what should have been the hands-down greatest highlight in my life as a baseball fan.

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