The St. Louis Cardinals' star became a U.S. citizen during a ceremony at the Courthouse. Pujols' wife Diedre arranged to have about two dozen relatives and friends watch U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber swear in Pujols.
Chester Moyer, the officer in charge of the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service office in St. Louis, said Thursday that Diedre Pujols served as her husband's tutor. Moyer said Pujols spent about a year preparing for the citizenship exam.
"He even answered a bunch of additional questions and gave us more answers than we asked," Moyer said. "He clenched his fist and said, 'I got 100 percent!'
"He just had a grin from ear to ear," Moyer said. "He was thrilled to become a citizen."
The ceremony was open to the public, but there was no publicity about Pujols' participation. He was the only person sworn in.
Pujols grew up in the Dominican Republic, moved with his father to the Kansas City area when he was 16, was graduated from Fort Osage High School in Independence, Mo., in 1998. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 amateur draft after playing baseball at Maple Woods College in Kansas City.
In six major league seasons, Pujols has 250 homers, 758 RBIs and a .332 batting average. He was the 2005 NL MVP and has finished second three times
Soon after the citizenship ceremony, Pujols flew to Florida to prepare for the opening of spring training.
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