UPDATE: Will Albert Pujols reach 700 home runs this season?

OddsChecker Odds on Pujols 700 HRs

When Albert Pujols retires, it will be a short wait until he reaches Cooperstown as he is a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer. The now 42-year-old has played 22 years in the majors and is a career .297 hitter with 693 home runs to his name. Will he be able to reach 700 homers before the end of the season? OddsChecker's Matt O'Leary takes a closer look.  

Despite sportsbooks' overwhelming amount of confidence in Pujols not to reach 700, you should still put some money on it. I'm not saying bet the maximum of $274, but still, put some money on it — let's say $100.

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Pujols will likely hit at least one more home run before the month ends. That means he only needs six more for the final 30 games of the season. Regardless of which teams are on the schedule for St. Louis, six home runs over a 30-game stretch for one of the greatest hitters in MLB history is realistic. 

Best of all, the Red Birds are starting to run away with the NL Central — currently 5.5 games ahead of Milwaukee for first in the NL Central — which means Pujols should be in the lineup just about every day for the remainder of the year. If Pujols wasn't retiring at the end of the year or if the Cardinals were in a thick playoff race, he might not be in the lineup as much, but that's just not the case.

But back to St. Louis' remaining schedule. It's overloaded with bad teams, increasing Pujols' chances of reaching No. 700. The Cardinals finish August with a three-game series in Cincinnati, and then host the Cubs and Nationals for a seven-game homestand. Those 10 games will be key to whether Pujols reaches 700 simply because they're all bad.

If Pujols can hit two, or maybe even three, during that stretch, it's likely Pujols gets to 700. Washington has the worst record in the NL, and Pujols has 105 career home runs against the Cubs and Reds. After that, Pujols sees the Brewers four more times, then the Reds again for four games, and the Pirates nine times. 

You know how many career home runs Pujols has against Pittsburgh? 52. That's a lot. And, yes, he's faced them a lot. But the Bucs are bad, too, and he'll get his fair shot of starts down the stretch against them to close out his final regular season.

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And don't be surprised if Pujols records another multi-homer game or two before the year ends. Pujols already has three multi-homer games this season, including two this month, tying him with Willie Mays for fifth all time in multi-homer games. 

It's not all that unlikely Pujols reaches No. 700. So, with Pujols hot, the Cardinals locking up the NL Central and a slew of bad teams on the Cards' upcoming schedule, put some money on Pujols to become the fourth player in MLB history to hit 700 career home runs. 

The Bet: Albert Pujols to hit over 699.5 career home runs during the 2022 regular season (+730 odds via FanDuel)

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