ARLINGTON, TEXAS
The only sound you could hear inside Rangers Ballpark was the collective gasp of all the slack-jawed Texas fans who were witness to the sort of damage Albert Pujols can inflict when he is properly provoked. It was the same sort of shock-and-awe silence he had produced six years ago during Game 5 of the National League Championship Series in Houston when he rattled a moon shot off the center field glass with such frightening urgency and raw power that it provoked Astros starter Andy Pettitte to gasp "Oh ... My ... GOSH!"
So here he was in the midst of Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, putting on the sort of historic power display that emphatically shifted the story line of his championship season from postgame interview no-show back to its rightful place as baseball's premier slugger.
"I've seen him on TV before," said Rangers manager Ron Washington, "but in person tonight was something special."
What Pujols did this warm Saturday night in a 16-7 victory over the Rangers was something no one had ever seen in the other 106 World Series before. He did something that Babe Ruth never did, Reggie Jackson never did, Willie Mays or Frank Robinson or all those other celebrated baseball legends who are bronzed in Cooperstown could not do in the history of the Fall Classic.
He became the first player in World Series history to have a five-hit, three-home-run game, while collecting 14 total bases. It happened while doing the most important work of the night, giving his Cardinals a 2-1 edge in this best-of-seven matchup and regaining home-field advantage in the Series. And he did it in typical Pujols style: with a flair for drama and power the likes of which Rangers Ballpark have never seen.
This was arguably the greatest offensive performance in World Series history.
"Someone said, 'Have a day that no one will forget,'" Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "That's exactly what he did."
