Cardinals fans give Albert Pujols a standing ovation in his return to Busch Stadium

Albert Pujols returned to St. Louis after seven years

[mikezazworsky]

I don't like the Cardinals. I don't like the Angels. But I LOVE THIS. When Yadi hugged Albert, c'mon, that's pretty great right????

[chrispotter]

Props to the announcers letting the moment speak for itself

[billd]

Classy move by Molina to step away from the plate.

[ExclusiveLM]

I like how the umpire also honored Albert in a very cool way by cleaning the plate to extend the standing ovation. Only real baseball fans could notice that. Of course the catcher standing away from home plate was also a sign of respect.

[PoiticayNcorrect]

I'm not a Cardinals fan but I've been to Busch Stadium to watch my team play them and without question, the Cardinals have the most classy fans in MLB.

[mariom]

2 titles and 3 mvp coming back in another uniform getting a standing ovation, I don't know how he was able to hold back the tears.

[theman]

Everyone did everything right.
Molina stayed out of the way.
Albert thanked the crowd and the crowd showed the man who helped bring 2 world championships and 3 world series appearances the respect he earned.
The announcers let the moment speak for itself

[jameshughes]

Very classy by the Cards to give Pujols his moment.

[stephenlennartz]

Yep. That's Cardinal Nation. Respect.

[TC-fpcr]

That stadium would have come unglued if he had hit that ball out.

[philbrown]

No matter who your favorite team is. No matter who your favorite player is. This was a class act by the fans, the Cardinals, Yadi, the announcers and the MLB.

[DwayneIsKing]

As a life long Cards fan, this brought tears to my eyes when I first saw this. I hate that Pujols left, but I'm just thankful for the memories he provided me and STL

[jamescrosby]

The movie money ball summed this up very well.... "how can you not be romantic about baseball"

[gerishoop]

Really classy move by the Cardinals fans!! Well done St. Louis, thanks for reminding all of us what real sportsmanship and love of the game is about!!

[Ken-xzqm]

Dodgers fan here- this is why I love the game of baseball so much this brought a tear to my eye and I wish every fan base in every sport could show this much class whenever a former star player returns hats off to you wonderful people in St. Louis

[wjlintz]

His first ten years were as good as anybody's in MLB history.

[jamaalthecashier]

I’m a Cubs fan, but this just gave me goosebumps. That was awesome to see. Just awesome. Respect.

[bschuff]

Still brings a tear to my eyes. God I love Cardinal baseball!

[acgmedical]

One of those guys who always stayed out of the media, stayed near his family and never said a bad word about any of his teammates. Took notes rookies...that is class.

[URAWESOME]

Gawd I love baseball. Everything about this moment screams baseball. He walks up to the umpire they exchange a brief complimentary exchange. He pats the umpire on the back. The catcher walks towards the mound to toss the ball to the pitcher. The umpire takes his mask off a second time to brush the plate in order to allow the batter to soak in the ovation. The catcher is standing off to the side as the plate is being brushed. “Soak it in champ.” After a beautiful bro hug, everyone’s set. Time to get back to work. Play ball. Beautiful.