Nolan Arenado
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Nolan James Arenado (; born April 16, 1991) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Arenado is widely recognized as an elite third baseman, both offensively and defensively. He is the only
infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
to win the
Rawlings Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...
in each of his first ten MLB seasons. He made his MLB debut with the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
in 2013 and was traded to the Cardinals before the 2021 season. A native of
Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
, Arenado attended El Toro High School in Lake Forest before becoming the Rockies' second-round selection in the 2009 MLB draft. A six-time MLB All-Star, his defensive accolades (in addition to his ten Gold Gloves) include four total (and three consecutive)
Fielding Bible Award A Fielding Bible Award recognizes the best defensive player for each fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB) based on statistical analysis. John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct the annual selection process, which commenced in 2 ...
s and three consecutive
Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award The Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award was awarded annually to the best defensive player at each fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB). The award was given between 2012 and 2019. An overall Defensive Player of the Year and a De ...
s, as well as six consecutive Rawlings Platinum Gloves. Offensively, he is a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and has twice led the league in both
home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
and runs batted in (RBI), and currently leads all major leaguers in RBIs since the start of the 2015 season. During his
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
career, Arenado was a two-time
All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...
selection, and led the minor leagues in RBI in 2011 with 155 over 163 total games. In 2016, Arenado became the youngest player in Rockies franchise history to reach 100 home runs. He played for the
United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
in the
2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...
(WBC), winning Team USA's first
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
in a WBC tournament. He has hit for the cycle twice: once on June 18, 2017, and again on July 1, 2022. He became the sixth player in history to finish off such a performance with a walk-off home run. In 2017, he became the 11th major leaguer and first third baseman in history to drive in 130 or more runs in three successive seasons.


Early life and amateur career

Nolan James Arenado was born in
Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
, and raised in nearby Lake Forest, an
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
city sandwiched between
Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...
, Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills. His father, Fernando, is of
Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...
ancestry, and his mother, Millie, a native of Queens, New York, is of Cuban and Puerto Rican ancestry. He has an older brother, Fernando Jr., and his younger brother, Jonah, was a corner
infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
in the San Francisco Giants organization. A first cousin,
Josh Fuentes Joshua Luis Fuentes (born February 19, 1993) is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Atlanta Braves organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies. He made his MLB debut in 2019. Amateur c ...
, is an infielder who has played for the Rockies. Arenado grew up a Los Angeles Dodgers fan. He attended
El Toro High School El Toro High School is a public high school in Lake Forest, California, United States. It is one of five high schools in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) and serves Lake Forest and its district of Portola Hills and a small po ...
in Lake Forest, and played shortstop on the school's baseball team with fellow future major leaguers
Austin Romine Austin Allen Romine (born November 22, 1988) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Ca ...
and Matt Chapman. In 2008, Arenado's junior year, El Toro won the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section championship. He was named to the '' Los Angeles Times'' All-Star team after leading his division with a .456 batting average, 32 runs batted in (RBI), and 33
runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
. As a
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
, Arenado batted .517, .615
on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
(OBP), five home runs (HR), 14 doubles, and a
triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...
, and was again named to the ''Los Angeles Times'' All-Star team. He committed to attend
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
(ASU) on a college baseball scholarship.


Professional career


Draft and minor leagues (2009–12)

The
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
selected Arenado in the second round with the 59th overall selection of the 2009 MLB draft. Rather than attend ASU, he signed with the Rockies, and made his professional baseball debut with the
Casper Ghosts Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...
of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he batted .300. In 2010, Arenado played for the Asheville Tourists of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he posted a .308 batting average and 41 doubles. Before the 2011 season, ''
Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
'' ranked Arenado as the Rockies' third-best prospect and 80th overall. He was highly acclaimed as a
hitter In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to driv ...
, less so as a defender. While playing for the Modesto Nuts of the Class A-Advanced
California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...
, he began working harder on his defense. While he had previously demonstrated exceptional arm strength and soft hands, they were neutralized by his inept footwork. Arenado later recalled that he “had really bad feet,” and “was too lazy,” for which Modesto
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
Jerry Weinstein Jerry Weinstein (born November 9, 1943) is an American professional baseball manager. He most recently managed the Hartford Yard Goats, a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Double-A team in the Eastern League, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. ...
relentlessly scolded him. He tasked Arenado to take ground balls earlier than the other players and to move rapidly and precisely and maintain readiness at third base. In addition, Arenado began lifting weights in earnest while pushing himself to improve. The work ultimately gave him a combination of explosive vigor, ingenuity, and finesse that allowed him to cover large areas and make good long and short throws from postures ranging from upright to nearly laying down. Along with Wilin Rosario, Arenado represented the Rockies at the 2011
All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...
. His first-half totals included a .283 batting average with six home runs and 42 RBI. He finished the season with a .298 batting average and 20 home runs, leading the minor leagues with 122 RBI. Later in the year, he was named the
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
(MVP) of the Arizona Fall League (AFL) after hitting .388 with six home runs and 33 RBI. In 163 games combined in the California League and AFL in 2011, Arenado batted .315 with 201 base hits, 155 RBI, 26 home runs and 44 doubles. Playing for the
Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...
of the Class AA Texas League in 2012, he was again named to appear in the All-Star Futures Game. He finished the year with a .285 batting average, 12 home runs, and 56 RBI.


Colorado Rockies (2013–2020)


2013−14

Despite a strong
spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
showing in
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, the Rockies optioned Arenado to the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...
of the Class AAA
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
(PCL) to start the season. Through April 28, he batted .364, 1.059 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), three home runs, and 21 RBI with Colorado Springs. At that point, Colorado promoted him to the major league club, and designated Chris Nelson for assignment to make room on the roster. Arenado went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. He recorded his first three MLB hits in his second game—including his first MLB home run off of pitcher
Josh Wall Joshua Michael Wall (born January 21, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 2005 MLB Draft out of Central Private School (Central, Louisiana), Central Private ...
—in a 12–2 win versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his sixth game, he hit his first major league grand slam and second career home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price. Arenado's defensive dominance translated smoothly to the major leagues, as ESPN.com published on September 7 that he would have ranked second for a hypothetical National League (NL) Defensive MVP Award. He trailed only shortstop
Andrelton Simmons Andrelton A. Simmons (born September 4, 1989) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago Cubs. D ...
for the league lead in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), 38–30. He appeared in 133 major league games and slashed .267/.301/.405 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI. Defensively, he led NL third basemen in range factor both per game (3.08) and per nine innings (3.24), and was second in
putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...
s (91), assists (309) and
double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...
s turned (tied with two others with 27). On October 29, 2013, Arenado became the first NL rookie to win a
Rawlings Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...
at third base, and the first in both major leagues since Frank Malzone won in the American League in
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
. Arenado tied for seventh place with Evan Gattis in the NL
Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
voting which was won by José Fernández with Arenado receiving the most votes as a third baseman. The first multi-home run game of Arenado's career occurred on April 5,
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, against Brandon McCarthy of the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 9–4 Rockies win. On May 8, Arenado hit safely in his 28th consecutive game to break the Rockies' franchise
hit streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 plat ...
record, which Michael Cuddyer set the previous season. On May 23, Arenado suffered a mallet fracture of his left middle finger on a headfirst slide into second base in a game against the Atlanta Braves, and was subsequently placed on the 15-day
disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...
(DL). Arenado missed 37 games due to the fracture and returned on June 28. He earned his first career NL Player of the Week Award for the week ending August 24. He batted .545 with a 1.645 OPS and 12 hits, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, three RBI, and six runs scored. Due to a chest contusion and early onset pneumonia, Arenado missed additional time at the end of the season. On the year, he batted .287/.328/.500, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 61 runs. He won his second Gold Glove Award despite playing in just 111 games.


2015

In
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, Arenado earned his second NL Player of the Week Award on June 28, hitting a major league-leading three multi-home runs games in six games, seven home runs and 14 RBI. He also scored 10 times, second-highest in the major leagues. He became an MLB All-Star for the first time as a National League reserve at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. At the time his selection was announced, he was fifth in the majors in home runs with 24 and led in RBI with 68. He had hit more home runs in road games than at Coors Field (15 to nine), more RBI (37 to 31) and posted higher on-base (.318 to .309) and slugging (.615 to .580) percentages. Playing against the San Francisco Giants on September 5, Arenado homered in his sixth consecutive game, breaking the Rockies' team record of five which
Dante Bichette Alphonse Dante Bichette Sr. (; born November 18, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player, currently employed by the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the California An ...
and Larry Walker shared. He won his first NL Player of the Month award in September, batting .339 and leading the major leagues with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, and 79 total bases. He collected an NL-leading 38 hits and was second in the league with .705 SLG. For the 2015 season, Arenado tied Bryce Harper for the NL home run title with 42, and led the National League with 130 RBI and 354 total bases. In addition, he batted .287 with a .323 OBP, .575 SLG, .898 OPS, 43 doubles, and 11 sacrifice flies (leading the majors) on his way to winning his first Silver Slugger Award for
third basemen A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
. He was the first Rockies player to lead the NL in home runs since Walker hit 49 in
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and the first to lead the majors in RBI since Andrés Galarraga with 150 in
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. Additionally, Arenado set a major league record for extra base hits by a third baseman in one season with 89, surpassing
Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...
' total of 87 in
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
. On defense, Arenado won his third consecutive Gold Glove, and, for the first time, was the major league-wide winner among third basemen for both the Fielding Bible and the
Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award The Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award was awarded annually to the best defensive player at each fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB). The award was given between 2012 and 2019. An overall Defensive Player of the Year and a De ...
s. He became the second Rockies player to win the Fielding Bible at any position, following shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame named Arenado the winner of their Professional Athlete of the Year Award for 2015. He received official consideration for the NL MVP Award for the first time, ranking eighth in voting behind Harper, Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo,
Andrew McCutchen Andrew Stefan McCutchen (born October 10, 1986) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia P ...
, Jake Arrieta, and Zack Greinke.


2016

Arenado and the Rockies avoided salary
arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...
on January 15,
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, agreeing to a one-year, $5 million contract, a raise from $512,000 in 2015. He was named NL co-Player of the Week with Harper for April 18 after leading the NL with four home runs and 12 RBI. He also carried an .852 SLG, led the NL with 23 total bases, and tied for second with seven runs scored. Arenado made his second All-Star Game, played at
Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...
in San Diego. He hit his 100th career home run on August 8, making him the youngest player in franchise history to do so, at just under age 25 years and four months. In September Arenado became the second player aged 25 and younger within the previous 75 seasons to drive in 125 runs in successive seasons. Overall, in 160 games, Arenado finished the year tied with Chris Carter for the National League at a batting average of .294, 182 hits, 35 doubles, 116 runs scored, an MLB-leading 133 RBI, 82 extra base hits, 68 walks (double the number from 2015), a .362 OBP, a .570 SLG and a .932 OPS. Arenado won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove at the third base position, becoming the first third baseman in MLB history to win four Gold Gloves in his first four seasons, as well as his second Silver Slugger, Fielding Bible and Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards. He also became the first player in Rockies history to lead the Majors in RBIs in two separate seasons. Arenado finished in fifth place in the NL MVP Award voting behind Kris Bryant, Daniel Murphy, Corey Seager and Rizzo, receiving almost double the number of vote points as he had gotten the year before (199 points in 2016 vs. 102 in 2015).


2017

Before spring training, on January 13,
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, Arenado and the Rockies avoided arbitration for the second straight year by agreeing to a two-year, $29.5 million contract. He received $11,750,000 for 2017 followed by $17,750,000 during the 2018 season. On June 18, he hit for the cycle against the San Francisco Giants. The home run was a walk-off hit off closer
Mark Melancon Mark David Melancon ( ; born March 28, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pi ...
, finishing off a 7−5 Rockies win. It was just the sixth time in MLB history that a hitter completed the cycle with a walk-off home run; Arenado's teammate Carlos González was the previous to do so, on July 31,
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. The 288th cycle in MLB history, Arenado's was the eighth by a Rockies player, and the 17th overall at Coors Field. During the June 28 game against the Giants, he knocked down a line drive batted by pitcher
Ty Blach Tyson Michael Blach ( ; born October 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies organization. He has previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies. Career Amat ...
as he was facing third base, spun on his stomach, and, without getting up on his feet, threw out Blach at first base. For the first time in his career, Arenado was selected to start in the MLB All-Star Game, played at Marlins Park in Miami, after receiving the most fan votes of all National League third baseman. His third overall selection, Arenado batted sixth and collected two singles in two at bats. Arenado set career-highs with three home runs and five hits, while tying a career-high seven RBI in an 18–4 rout of the San Diego Padres on July 19. He tied the franchise record held by Jeff Cirillo and
Todd Walker Todd Arthur Walker (born May 25, 1973) is a former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 to 2007. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Walker played college baseball at Louis ...
for the number of total bases in a single game with 14, and became the first player in Rockies history to reach both three home runs and five hits in a single game. He also became the first player in the majors to reach 80 RBI. Named Player of the Week for the fourth time of his career on July 23, Arenado hit .458/.480/1.000 with four home runs and 13 RBI in five games. He later won the Player of the Month Award for July, his second monthly award, after hitting .389/.423/.744 with eight home runs, 35 hits, 15 extra base hits, 30 RBIs and 18 runs scored in 22 games. With a two-run home run versus
José Ureña José Miguel Ureña Rodriguez (born September 12, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played MLB for the Miami Marlins, Detroit Tigers, and Milwaukee ...
of the
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...
on August 11, Arenado became the first major leaguer of 2017 to reach 100 RBI for the third year in a row, doing so in 112 games. He had batted .441 and 77 RBI with runners in
scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when they are on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter h ...
(RISP) in those 112 games. He was ejected by umpire Pat Hoberg from the August 12 game in the seventh inning versus Miami for throwing his bat. Arenado's batting turn was up in the ninth inning, before Miami prevailed, 4–3. A pitch from Vance Worley on August 14 hit him on the left hand. An X-ray revealed no fractures, and he was ruled to miss the DL, but swelling resulted. On September 16 versus the Padres, Arenado drove in his 125th run of the season, becoming the first third baseman and first Rockies player to do so in three consecutive seasons. Later that September, he became the 11th player and 1st third baseman in major league history to drive in 130 or more runs in three consecutive seasons. Writing for ''The
Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
,'' Joe Rivera noted, that per Fangraphs, Arenado was the fourth player in history to net at least 100 defensive runs saved within his first five seasons (103). Through September 28, he had batted .365 and 1.297 OPS in situations of two outs and runners in scoring position for the season. Making his first postseason appearance in the NL Wild Card Game, Arenado went 1-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored as the Rockies lost to the Diamondbacks 11–8 at Chase Field, ending their season. Arenado finished the season with a .309 batting average, 187 hits, 43 doubles, seven triples, 37 home runs (tied for third most in the league with teammate
Charlie Blackmon Charles Cobb Blackmon (born July 1, 1986), nicknamed "Chuck Nazty", is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2011, as a member of the Rockies. Blackmon throw ...
and Miami's Marcell Ozuna), and 130 RBI. The RBI total was second to Giancarlo Stanton for the major league lead by two, resulting in Arenado just missing leading the majors for a third consecutive season. He also scored 100 runs, produced 87 extra base hits, 355 total bases, 62 walks, nine intentional walks, three stolen bases, .373 OBP, .586 SLG and .959 OPS over 159 games. He established or tied career highs in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, total bases, stolen bases, OBP, SLG and OPS. End of campaign awards for Arenado included a selection as the third baseman of ''Baseball Americas All-MLB Team and third successive Silver Slugger Award. He was the Players Choice for the Majestic Athletic Always Game Award, identifying "the player who constantly exhibits grit, tenacity, perseverance and hustle on and off the field, all for the benefit of his teammates and fans." An amplitude of defensive accolades eventualized including a fifth straight Gold Glove Award, making him the first infielder to arrogate this in each of his first five seasons in the major leagues. Only
Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began his ...
, as a right fielder, won more Gold Gloves to start his career (10). Arenado won his first
Platinum Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...
as the finest defensive member of all the National League, and a third succedent promotion of both the Fielding Bible and Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards for third base. He clinched fourth place in the NL MVP voting—the highest ranking of his career—behind Stanton, Votto and Goldschmidt, and ahead of fifth-place Blackmon.


2018

Prior to the
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
season, ''Sports Illustrated'' ranked Arenado as the eighth top overall player, and the "best defensive infielder in baseball. Third base is the deepest position in baseball today, but none can quite do what Arenado can." The Rockies and he agreed to defer contract extension negotiations until after the season. On April 11, San Diego Padres pitcher Luis Perdomo threw a pitch behind Arenado, who charged the mound and incited a bench-clearing brawl. Two days later, the league suspended Arenado and Perdomo for five games. In his first game back, Arenado hit his 150th career home run versus
Kyle Hendricks Kyle Christian Hendricks (born December 7, 1989), nicknamed "The Professor", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2014, and led MLB in earned run average for ...
in a 16−5 loss to the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
. After homering and collecting at least two hits in each of four consecutive games, Arenado was named NL Player of the Week on June 25. His aggregate included .379/.419/.955 with five home runs, two doubles, seven runs scored, and 13 RBI. After producing a first half batting .305, 22 home runs and 63 RBI, Arenado was voted to start the 2018 MLB All-Star Game for the second year in a row, and fourth selection overall. He finished his 2018 campaign slashing .297/.374/.561 with 38 home runs and 110 RBIs in 156 games, while also scoring 104 runs and notching 175 hits, 38 doubles, a career-high 73 walks, 331 total bases, 78 extra base hits, a .935 OPS, and a career-high 133 OPS+. After the season, he won his sixth consecutive Gold Glove and fourth consecutive Silver Slugger. He also won his second consecutive Rawlings Platinum Glove Award with his former high school teammate Matt Chapman. He also finished third in MVP voting behind the Cubs’
Javier Baez Javier may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Javier, in video game '' Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' * Javier Rios, a character in the Monsters, Inc. franchise. * ''Javier'' (album), a 2003 album by the American singer Javier Colon, known a ...
and the Brewers’ Christian Yelich.


2019

On February 26, 2019, Arenado agreed to an eight-year, $260 million contract extension with the Rockies. On May 25, he hit his 200th career home run, a three-run go-ahead shot, against the Baltimore Orioles. He was selected by fan vote to start in the MLB All-Star Game at third base for the National League, hosted in Cleveland. Arenado finished the 2019 season hitting .315/.379/.583 in 154 games and making just nine errors, setting new career-highs in batting average, OBP, fielding percentage (.980), fWAR (5.9), bWAR (6.7), and on-base plus slugging (.962). He also ranked third in the National League in hits (185) and total bases (343), fourth in RBIs (118), and fifth in home runs (41), runs scored (104), batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. He also won his seventh straight Gold Glove Award and his third straight Platinum Glove Award and finished sixth in the MVP voting.


2020

During the offseason, it was reported that Arenado was unhappy in Colorado and had requested a trade, stating "there’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of." General manager
Jeff Bridich Jeffrey Thomas Bridich ( ; born September 10, 1977) is a former American baseball executive. He was the general manager of the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball from 2014 to 2021. Biography Bridich is from Whitefish Bay in Milwaukee Cou ...
claimed that "we have listened to teams regarding Nolan and really nothing has come of it" and Arenado remained with Colorado for the 2020 season. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Arenado batted .253/.303/.434 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 48 games. He won his eighth consecutive Gold Glove Award at third base, tying Scott Rolen for the third-most Gold Gloves at the position.


St. Louis Cardinals (2021–present)


2021

On February 1, 2021, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Arenado from the Rockies along with $51 million in exchange for
Austin Gomber Austin Zachary Gomber (born November 23, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals' fourth round select ...
,
Mateo Gil Mateo Gil Rodríguez (born 23 September 1972, Las Palmas, Spain) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter, second unit director, assistant director, cinematographer, editor and producer. He co-wrote most of Alejandro Amenábar's films with him, ...
,
Tony Locey Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Colorado Rockies system and rosters of their minor league affiliates: Adael Amador Adael Alexander Amador (born April 11, 2003) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in th ...
, Elehuris Montero and
Jake Sommers Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Colorado Rockies system and rosters of their minor league affiliates: Adael Amador Adael Alexander Amador (born April 11, 2003) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in th ...
. Arenado hit his first home run as a Cardinal on March 29 at Great American Ball Park in a 9–6 loss to the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
. He hit his first home run at Busch Stadium as a Cardinal in the team's home opener on April 8, a go-ahead two-run homer in a game in which the Cardinals won 3–1 over the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
. Arenado was named the National League's starting third baseman at the
2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 91st Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the Colorado Rockies and played at Coors Field on July 13, with the American League (AL) defeating the National League (NL) 5– ...
in Denver. Arenado finished the 2021 season batting .255/.312/.494 with 34 home runs and 105 RBIs. Defensively, he led National League third basemen in putouts (125), double plays (38), and range factor per game (2.66). He won the
Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...
at third base, one of five Cardinals to win that year, an MLB record. His ninth consecutive Gold Glove tied him with Mike Schmidt for the most consecutive awards by a National League third baseman. After the season, Arenado could have opted out of his contract with the Cardinals and become a free agent, but chose to remain with the club.


2022

On April 27,
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, Arenado was ejected for inciting a bench-clearing brawl against the New York Mets after yelling at
Yoan López Yoan López Leyva (born January 2, 1993) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York ...
for throwing near his head, assuming the throw was retaliation for the Cardinals having hit three Mets batters the night before. Arenado received a two-game suspension for the incident, but the suspension was reduced to one game after an appeal. He was named April Player of the Month for the National League after having batted .375 with five home runs, 17 RBIs, 12 extra-base hits and a league-leading 1.125 OPS. He was the first Cardinals third baseman to win the award since
Ken Reitz Kenneth John Reitz (June 24, 1951March 31, 2021) was an American baseball third baseman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed " Zamboni", he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and ...
in May of
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
. Arenado struggled mightily in May, batting a .196 average during the month. He was able to turn it around in the following months of June and July, batting .309 with 10 home runs and 28 runs batted in. On July 1, 2022, Arenado hit for his second career cycle in a 5–3 loss to the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
at Citizens Bank Park. He hit an RBI triple in the first inning, a two-run homer in the third inning, doubled in the sixth, and in the ninth, singled on a hard-hit grounder that caromed off third baseman
Matt Vierling Matthew Gregory Vierling (born September 16, 1996) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame. The Philadelphia Phillie ...
's glove. It was the 17th cycle in Cardinals history. The following game, Arenado hit the first of four consecutive home runs on July 2, 2022, the 11th such occurrence in major league history. Teammates Nolan Gorman,
Juan Yepez Juan David Yepez (born February 19, 1998) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Career Atlanta Braves organization Yepez sign ...
and Dylan Carlson each followed suit off starter Kyle Gibson with two outs in the first inning. It was the first time that the Cardinals had accomplished the feat, and the first time that it occurred in the first inning. Arenado later won the game for St. Louis in the ninth inning with his second home run of the game, 7–6, which was also the 5,000th at bat of his career. Arenado was selected to represent the Cardinals at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles. On July 24, it was announced that Arenado, along with teammate Paul Goldschmidt, would not be allowed to travel with the Cardinals to Toronto for a scheduled series against the Blue Jays, due to his lack of a COVID-19 vaccination. Arenado was named NL Player of the Month for August. During the month, he batted a .364 average with 9 home runs and 29 runs batted in. His performance lead St. Louis to a 22-7 record in August. Arenado finished the 2022 season batting .293/.358/.533 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs, making it seven seasons with 30+ home runs and 100+ runs batted in in his 10-year career. He had the lowest ground ball percentage of all major leaguers (29.7%). Defensively, Arenado led all third basemen with an
ultimate zone rating Ultimate zone rating (UZR) is a sabermetric statistic used to measure fielding. It compares the event that actually happened (hit/out/error) to data on similarly hit balls in the past to determine how much better or worse the fielder did than the "a ...
of 13. He was awarded his tenth consecutive Gold Glove Award, tying with
Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began his ...
for the most consecutive Gold Gloves to start a career. He was named a finalist for the
National League Most Valuable Player Award The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...
alongside teammate Paul Goldschmidt and
Manny Machado Manuel Arturo Machado (; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Very highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he at ...
. Arenado was awarded the Rawling Platinum Glove for the 6th consecutive year, as well as his 5th Silver Slugger.


2023

On October 29, 2022, Arenado informed the Cardinals that he would again not opt out of his contract, ensuring he will remain in St. Louis through the 2027 season.


International career

Arenado played for the United States national baseball team in the
2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...
(WBC). On March 22, 2017, Team USA won 8–0 over the previously undefeated Puerto Rico, the first time that the United States won the
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
.


Player profile

Arenado is exceptionally skilled in range, catching, and throwing, including arm strength and accuracy, even while throwing off-balance. Remarked '' Denver Post'' beat writer Patrick Saunders, "In every city I travel, writers, broadcasters, and fans rave about Arenado’s magic at the hot corner." Arenado is known to practice intensely and often. When Rockies manager Bud Black visited him at the campus of University of California, Irvine, in January 2017, Arenado asked to take ground balls at third base. Black marveled, “Very few big leaguers take grounders in January, because here comes February and March, and you’re gonna take thousands of them.” He wears an oversized glove to give him more margin for error.


Awards and accomplishments

;Records and distinctions *
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
' franchise
hit streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 plat ...
record of 28 games (May 28, 2014) * Colorado Rockies' franchise record of home runs in six consecutive games (Sep. 1–5, 2015) * Colorado Rockies' franchise record of youngest player to reach 100 home runs (at 25 years, 3 months, 23 days on August 8, 2016) * Major League Baseball's first rookie to win Gold Glove at third base (2013) since 1957 * First third baseman in Major League Baseball history to win Gold Glove in each of his first five seasons * Major League Baseball record of 89 extra-base hits in one season by a third baseman (2015) ;Statistical achievements


Personal life

Arenado married his high school sweetheart, Laura Kwan, in December 2019. Their first child, a daughter, was born in August 2022. Arenado's favorite players are fellow third basemen Adrián Beltré of the Texas Rangers and Rockies teammate and outfielder
Matt Holliday Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and former left fielder who is the bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB from 2004 to 2018 for the Col ...
. Arenado apprised that he attempts to mimic Holliday's swing "because he stayed through the ball so much." Longtime Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully autographed the bat with which Arenado hit his 40th home run of 2016, during Scully's last season of broadcasting, and his final series of calling Dodgers' home games.
Josh Fuentes Joshua Luis Fuentes (born February 19, 1993) is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Atlanta Braves organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies. He made his MLB debut in 2019. Amateur c ...
, Arenado's cousin, has played as a third baseman for the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
. Formerly, Arenado's
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
was Scott Boras. As of November 2015, it was reported as Joel Wolfe of
Wasserman Media Group Wasserman (formerly Wasserman Media Group) is a sports marketing and talent management company based in Los Angeles. Casey Wasserman, grandson of media mogul Lew Wasserman, founded the company in 1998 and acts as its chief executive. History I ...
.


See also

* Colorado Rockies individual awards * List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders * List of Major League Baseball career assists as a third baseman leaders * List of Major League Baseball career games played as a third baseman leaders * List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders *
List of Major League Baseball career OPS leaders On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging average.Sewww.baseballprospectus.como. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two impo ...
* List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders * List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle * List of people from Newport Beach, California *
St. Louis Cardinals award winners and league leaders The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). Before joining the NL in 1892, they were also a charter member of the American Association ( ...


Notes


References


External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Arenado, Nolan 1991 births Living people American sportspeople of Cuban descent American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from California Casper Ghosts players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Gold Glove Award winners Major League Baseball third basemen Modesto Nuts players National League All-Stars National League home run champions National League RBI champions Salt River Rafters players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Newport Beach, California St. Louis Cardinals players Tulsa Drillers players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2017 World Baseball Classic players