In his first year of managing -- ever -- St. Louis Cardinals icon Albert Pujols overcame adversity that included a brutal in-season team slump to get Leones de Escogido into the Dominican Winter League playoffs on the final day of the regular season. From there, Pujols managed Escogido to the league championship after going 10-5 in a round-robin playoff round, then outlasting Tigres del Lacey in a tense seven-game series. The victory ended a eight-season championship drought for the proud Escogido franchise -- the team that young Albert Pujols rooted for as a kid in Santo Domingo.

With another prestigious accomplishment added to his extraordinary resume, Pujols will now guide Escogido into a spot in the Caribbbean Series. After that, he'll resume his duties for MLB Network and continue on as a Global Ambassador for major-league baseball in his role as an assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred.

Pujols would like to manage a MLB team, and he certainly took a step in the direction of that goal by winning a championship as a rookie manager. Congratulations!