Cardinals legend Albert Pujols lands first managerial gig post-retirement in road to becoming an MLB manager

At the end of the 2022 season, one of the most beloved figures of his generation, Albert Pujols, decided to hang up his cleats for the final time. The St. Louis Cardinals legend gave a send-off for the ages, delivering one of his best seasons in his final few years in the MLB, surpassing 700 career home runs in the process.

Well, it may not be long before we see Albert Pujols return to the MLB, albeit not as a player. The future Hall of Famer has recently been announced as the new manager of Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League. This is a major step towards Pujols potentially becoming the manager of an MLB club in the future.

"Albert Pujols has been announced as the new manager of the Dominican Winter League's Leones del Escogido" - @TalkinBaseball_

Leones del Escogido is a professional baseball club in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which also happens to be the hometown of the Cardinals legend. While fans will have to wait until next winter for Pujols to make his managerial debut, many fans have already begun to envision him entering the MLB as a manager one day.

This is not Albert's first experience with the club as he appeared in 16 games for Leones del Escogido in preparation for his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals. It will undoubtedly be a spectacle when arguably one of the best Dominican-born baseball players in history takes over the managerial reigns of one of the country's most successful clubs.

Could this be the start of Albert Pujols' road to becoming the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals?

It remains to be seen how Pujols will perform as a manager, however, if he does intend to one day reach the MLB as a coach, it would make sense for it to be with the St. Louis Cardinals.

If he does reach the MLB with his former club, it would not be the first St. Louis Cardinals legend of his era to accept a front-office role with the team. Pujols' friend and long-time catcher Yadier Molina is set to become the special assistant of John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' President of Baseball Operations.

"Welcome back, Yadi! Yadier Molina has been named Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations! #STLCards" - @Cardinals