Pujols means the world to Latin American peers. For generations of Major Leaguers from Latin America, there have been stars from their countries to look up to and try to emulate, especially at the beginning of their professional careers. For young players from Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente was the standard, on and off the field, followed by Orlando Cepeda, Iván Rodríguez, Yadier Molina and others. In Venezuela, the icons were Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio, followed by David Concepción and later Miguel Cabrera. For aspiring Major Leaguers from Mexico, Roberto “Bobby” Ávila and, of course, Fernando Valenzuela were the figures to look up to. And Cuba brought us Atanasio “Tany” (or Tony) Pérez, who along with Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant set the bar for their countrymen in the last 60 years. As he winds down a historic 22-year Major League career, Pujols — who announced he will retire after the 2022 season — is that standard for generations of players, not only from the Dominican Republic, but from Latin America at large.
