Mentally 'in a stronger place,' Arenado saves the day again with walk-off HR

ST. LOUIS -- Not long after pulling his hands in and using the quick-twitch muscles to turn on a 97.8 mph fastball for the kind of pulsating home run that made him once again resemble the Nolan Arenado of old -- instead of an older Arenado who struggled a year ago -- the superstar third baseman had an epiphany.

A season ago, when his bat often lagged and he had seemingly lost the ability to jump pitches and pull them with regularity, Arenado acknowledged that he likely wouldn’t have been able to do what he did on Saturday to electrify the awestruck Cardinals.

Admitting such a thing is still difficult for the prideful Arenado, who continues to chase greatness even as it seems to be pulling further away from him and moments like the one that he provided for 35,316 fans at Busch Stadium don’t come with the same frequency. Admitting that he is a vastly different player now than the one who slumped to just 16 home runs a season ago seemed to be both cathartic and encouraging for Arenado.

“With the moves I was making last year, absolutely not,” Arenado said of getting in position to hit the Statcast-projected 385-foot homer that he drilled off Milwaukee’s Trevor Megill for the sixth walk-off long ball of his career in the Cardinals' 6-5 victory.

“I was not in a good place last year. I don‘t like thinking about it, but I don’t think I get to that last year. This year, I’ve had a lot of help in working on the right things, and with the hitting coaches, we did a good job of trying to fix some things and it came through today.”

A night after making a game-saving defensive play to lift the Cardinals past the Brewers, Arenado did it with his bat on Saturday after All-Star closer Ryan Helsley had surrendered a game-tying, two-run homer to Jackson Chourio in the top of the ninth. A night after throwing the speedy Chourio out at the plate with an off-balanced throw, he topped the rising Milwaukee star with a homer that left his bat at 102.1 mph, per Statcast.

“Hall of Famer for a reason, and he’s one of the best at it on both sides of the baseball,” raved Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, referring to Arenado’s exploits. “He’s going to continue to show that he’s determined to [be great offensively and defensively].”

Difference-making moments, like the ones he contributed in Friday’s win and Saturday’s victory, still matter greatly to Arenado, who has a burning desire to prove his greatness and completeness as a player.

Determined to move past a forgettable 2024 season, Arenado poured himself into bettering his body over the winter by doing Muay Thai training and agility drills to be lighter and quicker. That quickness certainly showed up on Saturday when Arenado was ready for and turned on a 97.8 mph inside heater even though Milwaukee catcher William Contreras was set up on the outside corner.

“I just feel like I still have a lot left in me in this game, and sooner or later I’m going to be done playing and I just want to keep going because I feel like I can do a lot of great things,” said Arenado, who hit his third homer of the season and pushed his RBI total to 12.

“That’s what I’m still chasing. When I feel like I can’t [accomplish greatness], I probably just won’t play [any] more, but I feel like I still can. I’m still trying to get comfortable and fix some things, but I’m still chasing that.”

Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray spent much of the early stages of his career trying to get Arenado out as they are both 13-year MLB veterans. Being around Arenado daily, as he has been the past two seasons, Gray has admired Arenado’s hunger to still be great.

“He takes pride in what he does, and I can learn a lot from that because I watch a lot of that from him,” Gray marveled. “He wants to be great, and he is great, but he’s not just content with being this name and this [famous] person. He’s been great and he’s still great, but he wants to continue to get better and strive to perform at high levels.”

Arenado, who used the no-trade clause in his contract to block a deal to the Astros in December, has performed at high levels this season despite some uncertainty about his future with the Cardinals. For now, he said, his only focus is his play on the field.

“Mentally, I feel like I’m in a stronger place and I’m focusing on doing my job and helping this team win,” he said. “I’m blocking out the uncontrollables, I guess.”