ST. LOUIS – Now three years into retirement, Albert Pujols still holds a deep love for baseball, but how he hopes to stay involved with the game in the long term remains to be seen.
One possibility? Becoming a major-league manager. And perhaps, maybe even one day with the St. Louis Cardinals franchise that brought him to fame.
Pujols has already dipped his toes into managing, recently leading Leones del Escogido to championships in both the Dominican Professional Baseball League and the Caribbean Series. Pujols is also set to manage the Dominican Republic national baseball team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
After a Hall-of-Fame caliber MLB career, including two World Series titles, three MVP awards and 703 home runs (fourth-most in MLB history), Pujols has a chance to add even more to his legacy if a managerial opportunity arises.
That chance may not come particularly soon with the Cardinals, who are off to a surprising 30-24 start under fourth-year manager Oli Marmol and preparing for a major front-office transition at the end of the season from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom.
Still, Pujols says he’s keeping his options open.
Speaking with FOX 2 Sports Director Martin Kilcoyne at the Pujols Family Foundation’s Top Golf charity event on Thursday, Pujols shared the following remarks:
“I don’t think anybody is surprised,” said Pujols on his hopes to manage full-time someday. “I think this is part of my passion. Every year, there’s an opportunity to be a manager, whether it’s minor leagues, big leagues. That’s my goal. Hopefully that time will come one day, but if it doesn’t come, I’m okay with it as well.”
“That’s something I am hoping for. I had an opportunity to do it this year in the DR. I was able to have great success. I gave all the credit to the players. I have great players. They respect me, I respect them and they play hard every day, and we were able to accomplish something we weren’t able to accomplish in years. Winning a tournament down there, and also going to the Caribbean series and winning as well.”
Pujols also praised current manager Oli Marmol and expressed gratitude for his 2022 sendoff season in St. Louis.
“I’m so grateful and thankful for God and the Cardinals giving me the opportunity to finish my career here, where everything started for me. The way I ended up doing it as well, we had a great year, had a great year as a team. We didn’t accomplish what we want in winning the Word Series. I think that would’ve been a great cherry on top, but that didn’t happen. “
“I think having a great manager like Oli Marmol and just the relationship him and I have, and the opportunity having him as a manager, I learned a lot. I was able to help a lot as well. That’s something that I appreciate most. To be back here and help this new generation.”
For now, Pujols continues to serve as a special assistant with the Los Angeles Angels as part of his deferred contract and occasionally appears on MLB Network in studio roles.