Albert Pujols able to smile and take base after pitch in the face

Albert Pujols is one tough baseball player.

The Los Angeles Angels designated hitter had already hit two home runs when he came to the plate in the seventh inning Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers. Tony Barnette was pitching for the Rangers and he came in high and tight catching Pujols off guard and striking him in the face with the pitch.

The ball also probably caught at least part of Pujols’ helmet, which likely made this a much less serious situation.

Most players don’t get up and take their base after being hit in the head with a pitch, much less being caught around the right eye as Pujols was. Yet, Pujols was able to get to his feet immediately before a teammate or trainer reached him and began to walk to first base under his own power.

It was even more impressive when cameras caught Pujols smiling just a few moments later as he regrouped at first base. He remained in the game through the inning.

Pujols went 3-for-3 in the game with six of the Angels eight runs driven in. He also scored two runs, leading his team to an 8-6 victory.

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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo