Nothing but respect: Crew to host Pujols for one last series

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Brewers fans have had their differences (to put it gently) with Cardinals mainstays Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina over the years, but here’s hoping the Milwaukee faithful push all that aside to give those stars a proper standing ovation when they visit for the final time this week. Both players are retiring after the season.

The Brewers’ front office probably hoped Pujols would carry his quest for 700 home runs into American Family Field to help sell a few extra tickets, but he reached that milestone Friday with a two-homer night at Dodger Stadium.

“I want him to have that milestone,” said Brewers shortstop Willy Adames a couple of weeks ago, when the Brewers visited Busch Stadium and Pujols was creeping toward 700. “I think it would be so cool for him and his family, for the Dominican Republic and for the game.”

It was no secret that a bunch of Brewers players were rooting for Pujols to get to his milestone -- just not against them. When Pujols reached second base in the opener of the last Brewers-Cardinals series in St. Louis, Adames went up and gave him a big hug right there on the field.

“You saw the hug?” Adames said the next day. “That was a lot of love and admiration. He is a role model for us Dominican baseball players. He is my dad’s favorite player. That’s why I’ve been watching him since I was a little kid. That’s why I brought my dad [Romulo] here to St. Louis, because I wanted to see him here. When [Pujols] got to second, I got goosebumps. I was like a little kid. It was a great moment for me as a Dominican ballplayer. I was enjoying that moment.”

Up in the stands, Adames’ father was having the time of his life. Especially because the Brewers rallied to win that game.

“He was telling me all about it after the game, like he couldn’t believe how people treat Pujols here. He said, ‘He is a god here,’” Adames said. “I told him, ‘I know.’ It’s just a lot of love for him and a lot of respect. I want him to get to 700. Like, I am pushing for him. I don’t want him to hit it against us, but once we are gone, I want him to kill it the rest of the season.”

Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau is another Pujols fan. Coming off a down year with the Rays last season, Brosseau picked up at-bats in the Dominican Winter League and was Pujols’ teammate with Escogido. Milwaukee pitching prospect Ethan Small also played for that team.

Did Brosseau pick anything up from Albert?

“One of the things I worked with before I went down there was my breathing,” he said. “Me and my hitting coach emphasized connecting your breath with your swing and your movements. That’s one thing I think is very visible with Albert. If you ever watch him swing, he is literally blowing out a big breath with every swing. That was one of the things I worked on to release the tension. He does it so extravagantly. I figured he was doing that for a reason, so we talked about that.

“That’s one thing specific thing that stood out from our time together. But after that, it’s just watching how he went about his business. It was such a cool experience. It’s such a small window we have to play baseball. You never know when it’s going to end, and I thought saying I played down there would be a cool thing.”

Adames recalled first meeting Pujols in 2018 when the Angels visited the Trop. Pujols walked up and gave Adames a hug like they were old friends, Adames said.

“I was so excited, like a little kid. I called my dad right away,” Adames said. “I told Pujols, ‘You don’t even know how much I respect you and what that hug means to me.’ He is so humble, man. He’s always giving us advice.”

Said Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta while Pujols was still chasing 700: “To Dominicans, he is a legend. We all love him. I know he has given all that he has to finish his career in this way. You see all the Dominican players, we have all the respect for him, because we know the process and how hard it is. We have so much love for him. I want him so bad to get to 700. We know that is his goal right now, and we are going to be so proud of him.”

The Brewers are expected to recognize Pujols’ and Molina’s pending retirement prior to Wednesday's finale. Pujols enters the series a career .329 hitter in Milwaukee with 20 home runs in 88 regular-season games.