Nolan Arenado's got jokes for Lars Nootbaar in return to face the Cardinals

Before the St. Louis Cardinals' opening game with the Diamondbacks, Nolan Arenado had jokes for the media and Lars Nootbaar. 

MLB.com's Brenden Schaeffer was in the midst of interviewing the future Hall of Fame third baseman when he asked him this question: 

“A couple of weeks ago, Noot joked that there’s nobody around to ‘son me’ anymore. What do you make of Lars Nootbaar, veteran leader in the clubhouse status?”

Arenado responded jokingly, “Doesn’t sound right,” he said with a sly grin. “But you know, that’s what happens as you get older in this game. You become the leader, but there’s no doubt I still don’t believe he’s the veteran leader on that team. There’s no way he’s buying dinner. No chance. He said he did, but I don’t believe it. Maybe Chipotle!” 

Nado’s jokes came right before a massive standing ovation from a Busch Stadium crowd, all on their feet. 

St. Louis went through some dark times in the twilight of Arenado’s tenure–but don’t forget the good ones. 

Nolan Arenado was an excellent St. Louis Cardinal 

The Redbirds were rollin’ when they first acquired Arenado. 

At first, it looked like he and veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt were destined to bring another championship to The Lou. Unfortunately, things didn’t shake out that way, but they sure tried. 

Nado was an astounding Cardinal. He did things on the baseball field that many fans will never see again in their lifetime. 

The chemistry between him and Goldschmidt combined for some of St. Louis’ all-time greatest plays. 

In particular, there was a play Arenado made in Pittsburgh, where he went diving toward the third base line. Obviously, he came up with the ball. Or more so lunged upwards than found his footing. 

Somehow, some way, Arenado launched a missile across the diamond, and on one of the greatest stretches a Cardinal first baseman has ever made, Goldy secured the out. 

Then there was the bat. 

In his best season, coming in 2022, Arenado finished third in the NL-MVP. 

The perennial Gold Glover brought home a bookshelf’s worth of hardware in his 7.9 WAR season, including a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, All-Star appearance, and a postseason berth with the Cardinals. 

This season, Nado has been about league average for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He started hot, but has considerably cooled as of late. 

Regardless of what Father Time brings to Nado’s career, St. Louis will forever be grateful to the greatest defensive third baseman of all time. 

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