Nolan Arenado ‘puts a bow' on Cardinals' Opening Day win: ‘It meant a lot to me today'

New York Times

28-03-2025

ST. LOUIS — Not one to be overly reflective or sentimental — at least not right before a baseball game — the always intense Nolan Arenado found himself caught off guard by the fan reception as he was introduced as the St. Louis Cardinals' Opening Day third baseman for the fifth consecutive year.
Thunderous applause and roaring cheers followed Arenado throughout the day: When he first took the field on the back of a Ford-150 truck — a home opener tradition — and circled the field, when he was introduced before his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning and during each of his at-bats that followed.
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But nothing compared to the bottom of the eighth inning, when Arenado turned on a high fastball up in the zone from Minnesota Twins reliever Griffin Jax, sending it over the left-center fence and sending Busch Stadium into a frenzy.
Arenado's solo shot provided a key late-game insurance run and ultimately sealed the Cardinals' 5-3 win over the Twins on Thursday night, making for a very happy home opener for the nearly 50,000 fans who braved stormy weather that threatened to cancel the game altogether. But the messaging behind the homer was even larger than what it represented in the box score, for both player and team.
For most of the offseason, Arenado didn't believe he would be a Cardinal come Opening Day. The Cardinals didn't think so either. The club was candid — perhaps to a fault — regarding its extensive efforts to trade the face of the franchise, hoping to clear up both payroll and roster space. Those attempts were ill-fated. Arenado took the turmoil in stride.
And in return, a sell-out crowd of 47,395 made sure he felt the love.
'It meant a lot to me today,' Arenado said after the game. 'I took it all in today — and I usually don't, but today I did. The way (the fans) cheered for me, it meant a lot to me and got me motivated. I was just fortunate to give them something to cheer about again. So I want to thank them for that.'
Nolan Arenado pads the @Cardinals lead with a big home run! #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/WTa3jlBbDh
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2025
Cardinal fans had plenty to cheer for Thursday. Opening Day starter Sonny Gray notched five innings of two-run ball, despite battling an illness earlier in the week and still searching for consistent velocity. Newly-minted leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar went 2-for-4 with a home run of his own — a two-run shot to right field in the bottom of the second for the first Cardinals homer of the year. Brendan Donovan and Iván Herrera both drove in runs, and the Cardinals banged out 10 total hits.
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Donovan and Victor Scott II both made stellar defensive plays that shut down rally chances for Minnesota. With one on and one out (and Gray's pitch count climbing) Donovan laid out to his left and snagged a hot shot from Carlos Correa and turned a double play from his stomach to end the frame. With two runners on and one out the following frame, Scott chased down a deep fly ball in right center and saved at least one run, if not more.
The bullpen picked up where it left off last year, with Kyle Leahy, John King, Chris Roycroft and Phil Maton combining for one earned run, three hits and one walk over the next three innings. That set the tone for closer Ryan Helsley, who racked up three strikeouts in the ninth to slam the door and cement an Opening Day win.
'Who are the St. Louis Cardinals?' Gray asked. 'I think that game can embody who we can be.'
Victor Scott II shows off the range! pic.twitter.com/RpgLhb7vGU
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 27, 2025
Manager Oli Marmol was pleased with his team's effort, commending the Cardinals for their aggressive at-bats and smart base running.
'You can talk about all of these different words, being electric, bringing energy, relentless — and then actually doing it,' Marmol said. 'They did exactly that. They're running all over the field, making plays, stealing bases. Our at-bats? That is what a relentless at-bat looks like, one through nine. Our at-bats and our style of play was exactly that.'
While Marmol certainly had plenty to smile about, Arenado's homer was arguably the highest on the list.
'Put a pretty nice bow on (the game), to be quite honest,' Marmol said. 'He's worked really hard this offseason to come back and show what he's capable of doing and what he's done for a very long time. That homer, that's a big homer. It's probably more meaningful than people think.'
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Busch Stadium recognized the moment in real time. The home fans rose to their feet as Arenado's homer moved through the evening sky. They remained standing as he circled the bags and descended the steps into the dugout. And they stayed that way until he reemerged from the dugout for a curtain call — much like they did in 2021, when he hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of his first home opener as a Cardinal.
It made for a full circle moment for Arenado, five years in the making. It was also a moment he didn't know he needed.
'I honestly wasn't expecting fans to be that loud,' Arenado said. 'That hit me a little bit. I was pretty pumped up about it. When I touched my heart, I was basically saying thank you.'
Drizzly weather, fan angst and mixed messaging regarding the organization's current direction did nothing to dampen the spirits in downtown St. Louis. The Cardinals rewarded their fanbase with a good, clean ball game and picked up an Opening Day win. Things are far from fixed in St. Louis, and one victory won't change that.
But as the celebratory fireworks lit up the evening sky as Arenado touched home plate with the force of an entire stadium rallying behind him, it felt like a classic Cardinal baseball moment.
Perhaps that's what everyone — the team, the fanbase and Arenado — needed the most.