Albert Pujols finally broke his hitless streak and now he wants to keep the ball

Albert Pujols has not been having the most productive September. Before Saturday night's Angels-Twins game, he was 0-for-25, a career-high hitless streak for him. Thankfully, a single off Mike Pelfrey in the top of the fourth inning kept it from getting any longer.

Then, Pujols asked for the ball, because apparently hitless streaks are like wedding anniversaries or "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in that you get extremely specific presents the longer they go on. On the 26th at-bat, Mike Pelfrey gave to me/a single and a baaaaaseball.

Fine, it doesn't exactly fit into the song, but what can you do?

"He called for it himself, he wanted the ball," Mike Scioscia told MLB.com's Betsy Helfand. "They might have thought it was something that had significance, but he was just joking around."

Of course, we here at Cut4 believe that hitless streaks do have some significance, because all great players find themselves grinding through one every now and then. Why not celebrate their end with a nice card and a gift? Luckily for you and all your professional baseball-playing friends, we've put together a "So Your Hitless Streak Is Over" gift guide based on traditional anniversary presents.

0-for-15

Who you might be giving to: Ken Griffey Sr.

in 1990, Ken Griffey hit a bit of a slump from July 4 to August 17. He went hitless for 15 at-bats, but that all cleared up once he became a Mariner. In his first game with Seattle, he singled off the Royals' Storm Davis and later came around to score, helping his new team to a 5-2 victory. Manners suggest he receive something made of crystal … like maybe some kind of All-Star MVP Award. 

0-for-20

Who you might be giving to: Miguel Cabrera

On the same night that Pujols ended his hitless streak, Miggy snapped his own long 0-fer with a single off Edinson Volquez. Consider getting him a nice china figure of himself absolutely destroying some baseballs.

0-for-25

Who you might be giving to: Albert Pujols

OK, he already got a baseball, but really, we should all chip in and get him one made of silver.

0-for-35

Who you might be giving to: Mel Ott

Yes, even Mel Ott, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame with a career slash line of .304/.414/.533, went hitless for 35 at-bats from April 21 to June 12, 1946. He finally singled off of the Cardinals Red Barrett on July 15 of that year, and his Giants went on to win, 11-5. You should have gotten him something made of coral, maybe a nice decorative bat.