Our last memory of St. Louis Cardinals slugger Nolan Arenado is one of him jawing with New York Mets’ pitcher Yoan Lopez just before the benches-clearing incident between both teams.
However, outside of that, he was excellent in the first month of the season.
He was so good that he was recently named as the National League’s Player of the Month.
“Your NL Player of the Month for April… Nolan Arenado! Arenado is the 1st Cardinals 3B to win since Ken Reitz (May 1977). This is the third time Arenado has won the award (Sept. ’15 and July ’17),” the Cardinals’ official Twitter account wrote on Monday.
Your NL Player of the Month for April… Nolan Arenado!
Arenado is the 1st Cardinals 3B to win since Ken Reitz (May 1977).
This is the third time Arenado has won the award (Sept. '15 and July '17). pic.twitter.com/WENszrhPDE
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 2, 2022
The other two times in which Arenado lifted the award he was a member of the Colorado Rockies.
Still An Elite Contributor
Arenado, known for being a two-way contributor by virtue of his potent bat and excellent defense, led all National League hitters with a 1.125 OPS.
He was also third in batting average with .375, third in extra-base hits with 12, and second in RBI with 17.
He has been one of the main reasons why the Cardinals have a 13-9 record and are right behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the lead in the NL Central division.
Overall, he is slashing .368/.435/.697 with six home runs.
He has accumulated 1.9 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) so far, which is excellent for a player just starting the second month of the season.
He is trying to prove he can still remain a top hitter at 31.
The Rockies didn’t want him or his contract, but he remains a top MLB player.
Numbers don’t lie, especially in large samples.
Since the start of last year (in which Arenado had 34 home runs and 105 RBI), he has proven his doubters wrong.
Some said he couldn’t hit outside of Coors Field.
Well, he is still doing it.
It seems he still has several good years in front of him.
NEXT: Yadier Molina Proves He Can Still Be A Threat On The Bases