ST. LOUIS -- When trying to decide who the Cardinals¡¯ primary leadoff hitter would be for the 2025 season, manager Oliver Marmol contemplated the stellar batting eye of Lars Nootbaar, the blinding speed of Victor Scott II or the two-strike hitting skills of Masyn Winn.
Ultimately, Marmol went with Nootbaar at the top of the order, and that decision continues to pay off for the Cardinals because of the left-handed hitter¡¯s keen pitch recognition and his abilities to draw walks.
Already the NL/AL leader in game-opening walks in March/April over MLB¡¯s Expansion Era (since 1961), Nootbaar opened the bottom of the first inning with another walk on Saturday for a 10th time this season in the Cardinals' 6-5 walk-off win against the Brewers.
¡°I¡¯m trying to [not chase pitches out of the strike zone] as much as possible,¡± said Nootbaar, who was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs in the Cardinals' 10th home win in 14 games this season. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to get a good pitch to hit -- that¡¯s the main thing. Me and [hitting coach Brant Brown] talk about that all the time -- getting a good pitch and doing as much as you can with it.
"I get in trouble sometimes when I get too patient, but it¡¯s just about understanding my role with the team and what I¡¯m trying to do as a player.¡±
On Wednesday against the Braves, Nootbaar equaled the March/April mark of eight game-opening walks set previously by former Dodgers great Davey Lopes in 1975. Combined with what he did on Friday night against the Brewers and in Wednesday¡¯s game in Atlanta, Nootbaar has now walked to open the last three games.
Saturday¡¯s leadoff walk was Nootbaar¡¯s team-best 22nd base on balls for the season. That number is tied for third in MLB with Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.
¡°The guys joke with me about [the leadoff walks record], but as a leadoff hitter, I still have that old-school mentality of seeing some pitches,¡± Nootbaar said. ¡°There are times when I can jump on a pitch. But coming from an old-school baseball family, that¡¯s what you do and that¡¯s seeing a lot of pitches as a leadoff hitter.¡±
Nootbaar, who also had two hits and an RBI in Friday¡¯s defeat of Milwaukee, doubled in Winn in his second plate appearance and singled in Winn in his third plate appearance on Saturday.
¡°It¡¯s pretty impressive that he¡¯s doing a little bit of everything, including playing good defense and running the bases well,¡± Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol marveled. ¡°He¡¯s not going to chase [pitchers] around and you¡¯re going to have to come in the zone. And then when [they] do, he¡¯s shown the ability to take his knocks and also do some damage.
¡°He¡¯s showing himself to be a well-rounded player and he¡¯s going to continue to get better. We have a really, really good player on our hands.¡±
Nootbaar said of late he¡¯s taken inspiration from close friend and teammate Nolan Arenado, who won Friday¡¯s game with a stellar defensive play and Saturday¡¯s game with the sixth walk-off home run of his career. Arenado¡¯s constant striving for more from a career that has already produced 10 Gold Glove Awards, six Platinum Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards and eight All-Star Game appearances is inspiring him to push for more out of his own career.
¡°I always knew what a player Arenado was prior to me getting here and my boys were always telling me, ¡®You¡¯ve got to attach yourself to the hip with him and try to learn everything that you can,¡¯¡± Nootbaar said. ¡°If I don¡¯t know any better in that offseason of 2021, I would have thought Nolan was a rookie like me, but at that point he already had nine Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers and seven All-Star Games.
"He¡¯s just never content and it¡¯s a credit to him. He¡¯s said it -- he¡¯s chasing greatness and he does that every day. It takes a special person to do that and he does it every day.¡±