Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols hit the 639th home run of his MLB career Thursday, giving him 2,000 RBI at the major-league level.
According to Baseball-Reference, Pujols is the fifth player to reach that RBI plateau (but only the third if you only count RBI since 1920, when it became an official statistic). The others are Hank Aaron (2,297), Babe Ruth (2,214), Alex Rodriguez (2,086), and Cap Anson (2,075). (In case you’re wondering, Barry Bonds and Lou Gehrig are the players right behind Pujols on the all-time list, with 1,996 and 1,994 RBI, respectively.)
Pujols played for the 2000 Peoria Chiefs, hitting .324 with 17 HR and 84 RBI in 109 games. He was the Midwest League’s Most Valuable Player and shared MWL Prospect of the Year honors with Austin Kearns of the Dayton Dragons.
Rodriguez also played in the Midwest League, for the 1994 Appleton Foxes (now known as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers). He batted .319 with 14 HR, 55 RBI and 16 SB in 65 games, earning him the MWL Prospect of the Year Award.