Albert Pujols Passes Sammy Sosa for Most MLB Home Runs by Foreign-Born Player

Albert Pujols passed Sammy Sosa as Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader among foreign-born players when he cracked his 610th career jack in the seventh inning of Tuesday night's game against the Texas Rangers.

The three-run blast to center field allowed the Angels to blow things wide-open and establish a 10-1 lead. Pujols also opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when he doubled to right-center field and scored Mike Trout.

He now has three multihit games this month.

As that figure indicates, the 37-year-old Dominican Republic native has been in quite a slump. Entering Tuesday's record-setting night, Pujols was slashing .230/.276/.375 with a .651 OPS in August.

All told, he's batting an even .200 in the second half of the season. However, the Angels will hope the three-time MVP is able to turn a corner quickly as the calendar flips over to September.

Although 2017 has largely been a struggle for Pujols with a few historic nights sprinkled in, his power-packed pedigree can't be ignored. And with L.A. in hot pursuit of the American League's second wild-card spot, a couple of clutch swings late in the season could help overshadow what has otherwise been a trying year.

Pujols, a two-time World Series champion with the St. Louis Cardinals, signed a 10-year, $254 million deal with the Angels after the 2011 season. He sits eighth on the all-time home run list, two behind longtime Cleveland Indians slugger Jim Thome. Barry Bonds leads the way with 762.

Here's the foreign-born top 10 behind Pujols and Sosa: Rafael Palmeiro (569), Manny Ramirez (555), David Ortiz (541), Carlos Delgado (473), Jose Canseco (462), Adrian Beltre (459), Miguel Cabrera (459), Vladimir Guerrero (449).