He did it again. Albert Pujols smacked his 40th home run on Sunday, marking the fifth time in his already storied career that he’s reached the plateau. With the bases empty in the fourth, he drove a 1-1 fastball from San Diego’s Edward Mujica over the right field wall to become just the 20th player in MLB history to reach 40 home runs in a season five times. What makes this year even more special for Pujols is that this is the earliest he has reached 40. The fastest prior to this year was when he hit his 40th on August 29th in 2004.

This guy is the real deal. In his 10-year career in the big leagues, his season LOWS include 32 home runs (2007), 103 RBI (2007), 185 hits (2002/2007), .314 batting average (2002), and a .955 OPS (2002). While he’s not on pace to have the best overall season of his career, the seven-time all-star and two-time National League MVP is currently on the way to best his home run mark of 49 set in 2006. If he continues at the rate he’s going, he’ll finish the 2009 season with 51. Only Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks looks like he might challenge for the home run crown this season.

His 358 career home runs don’t quite put him on pace to break Barry Bonds’ record of 762, but at just 29 years of age, Pujols is already tied for 72nd overall with the great Yogi Berra, and will likely pass Joe DiMaggio for 69th all-time by season’s end. The best thing about Pujols’ home runs is that he so rarely has a cheapie. Each one is a monster shot. With his mammoth blasts, Pujols is not only following in the footsteps of former Cardinals bombers like Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds, he’s also carving a brand new path his consistently incredible offensive charge.

What more can be said about this guy that can’t be seen in the numbers? Albert Pujols is a beast. Albert Pujols is a giant. Albert Pujols is the real deal. With ten more years with numbers similar to the ten he’s put up so far, it won’t be long after that we’ll be saying that Albert Pujols is the greatest hitter of all time.