ST. LOUIS — Not all sports stories get the happy ending Albert Pujols is currently writing with the Cardinals.
For a while, it looked like he'd end his career in Los Angeles, after opting to leave as a free agent following the 2011 season.
And while the moods in St. Louis have certainly shifted since that time, the memories are still strong; for everyone.
"I almost felt sick physically. I immediately got on the phone with a few of the guys that worked with me, told them to pack up, we're leaving now," Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. "My immediate reaction like anything that you're so involved in, it was like an immediate failure or like a depression. It's such a letdown."
"I was bitter and angry," 101 ESPN's Randy Karraker remembered.
"It ran the gamut of being disappointed, of being angry, angry at the Cardinals, angry at Albert... People were just really upset because they knew what they were losing," long-time St. Louis media personality Bob Ramsey said.
Pujols' departure also had an impact on a particular restaurant in St. Louis.
The Hanon family opened "Pujols 5" restaurant in Westport Plaza in 2006 to major success. The most recognizable feature of the restaurant was the bronze statue of Albert out front.
But once Pujols opted for the Angels, the Hanons caught some of the wrath of angry St. Louisans.
"(We were) getting hundreds of hate emails every day, they were throwing stuff at it," Patrick Hanon Jr. told our Frank Cusumano.
"We had to put a guard on the statue," Patrick Hanon Sr. said.
"We were the only place the public could take it out on," Dave Hanon said.
Two months after the Pujols announcement, the restaurant changed the name from "Pujols 5" to "St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Bar and Grill", and then eventually, "Patrick's". In 2017, the restaurant shut down for good.
But there are no hard feelings from the Hanon family.
"I'd wish him continued success and sorry it didn't work out," Hanon Sr. said he'd tell Pujols if he saw him on the street.
And the family has one more clever idea for a restaurant...
"We'll call it Albert's 700," Hanon Jr. said.
And that bronze Pujols statue? Well, it's still right there in Westport.
