In the midst of the National League Wild Card race, the St. Louis Cardinals faced the Arizona Diamondbacks last weekend, taking on a familiar face in the form of 10-time Gold Glove Award winner Nolan Arenado. Since a trade to the Diamondbacks, Arenado has seen a resurgence after moving back to the National League West division for his 14th MLB season.
Thus far, the eight-time All-Star has already surpassed his WAR and home run totals from a season ago in 14 fewer games. In 93 contests, Arenado is hitting .244 with a .415 slugging percentage, a .318 on-base percentage, 13 home runs, 18 doubles, 44 RBIs and 1.6 WAR. The former St. Louis Cardinal contributed to those totals against his former team over a three-game set, torching the Redbirds with timely hits.
Arenado torches his former team amid wild card race
During the season opener, Arenado went 0-for-3 with a walk but battled back in Saturday's game with a 2-for-4 performance, including a double and two RBIs. Then during Sunday's comeback from a seven-run deficit, Arenado went 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run off Gordon Graceffo in the eighth inning. Arenado's home run was the 1,999th hit of his career, as the former six-time Platinum Glover will certainly receive consideration for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Following the series against St. Louis, Arenado etched himself in the history books, tallying his 2,000th career base hit Monday against the Athletics. Arenado is now the 298th player in major league history to reach the milestone. Right before reaching the mark, Arenado sensed it was coming, saying, "You know, if I stay healthy, I'm going to get it. I would love to get it done as soon as possible."
Unfortunately for St. Louis fans, they weren't able to see Arenado enjoy the accomplishment with Cardinals on his jersey. Now with 2,000 hits under his belt, Arenado will set his sights on 60 career WAR next. Only 132 MLB players in history have reached that mark, with Arenado just shy at 59.6. His best output in a single season came during the 2022 season with the Cardinals, where he posted 7.9 WAR in a third-place finish in MVP voting.
