Lars Nootbaar

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Lars Nootbaar
Lars Nootbaar (43785205992).jpg
Nootbaar with the State College Spikes in 2018
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 68
Outfielder
Born: (1997-09-08) September 8, 1997 (age 24)
El Segundo, California
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 22, 2021, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.239
Home runs5
Runs batted in15
Teams

Lars Taylor-Tatsuji Nootbaar (born September 8, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Early life and amateur career[]

Nootbaar grew up in El Segundo, California, and attended El Segundo High School, where he played baseball and football. He was a three-time League MVP in baseball and twice in football as the Eagles' starting quarterback.[1] He committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern California (USC) and was recruited to play college football by UC Davis and Fordham.[2]

Nootbaar was a three-year starter for the USC Trojans, where his older brother Nigel had previously played.[3] He was named All-Pac-12 Conference as a sophomore after hitting .313 with 34 RBIs, 33 runs scored and seven home runs.[4] Following the season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5] As a junior, Nootbaar batted .249 with six home runs and 24 RBIs.[6]

Professional career[]

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Nootbaar in the eighth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[7] After signing with the team he was assigned to the State College Spikes of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League, where he set a team record with seven RBIs in one game.[8] For the season, he hit .227 with two home runs and 26 RBIs over 56 games. Nootbaar began the 2019 season with the Class A Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League before being promoted to the Class A-Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League.[3][9] He was promoted a second time to the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League. Over 101 games between the three clubs, he batted .264 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs.[10] Nootbaar did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Nootbaar began the 2021 season at the Cardinals' alternate training site before being reassigned to the Triple-A East Memphis Redbirds.[12] He was placed on the injured list with a hand injury on May 28, and was activated on June 14.[13]

On June 22, 2021, Nootbaar was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[14] At the time of his promotion, he was slashing .329/.430/.557 with five home runs and 17 RBIs over 22 games.[15] He made his MLB debut that day as the starting left fielder against the Detroit Tigers.[16] The following day, Nootbaar recorded his first career hit, a triple.[17] He hit his first career home run as a pinch-hitter off J. T. Brubaker in a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 12, 2021.[18] Nootbaar hit another pinch hit home run the next day in a 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.[19] Nootbaar finished the 2021 season slashing .239/.317/.422 with five home runs and 15 RBIs over 109 at-bats.[20] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs after the season.[21]

Personal life[]

Nootbaar is the great-grandson of businessman and philanthropist Herbert Nootbaar.[1] Nootbaar's father, who is of Dutch descent, met his mother, who is Japanese, while they were students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.[15] His older brother, Nigel, was a pitcher at USC and played professionally in the Baltimore Orioles system.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Viscara, Angel (March 29, 2016). "Nootbaar Much More Than A Nifty Name For The Trojans Lineup". USCAnnenbergMedia.com.
  2. ^ "Nootbaar leads El Segundo into unchartered Ocean waters". September 16, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Chiefs leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar taking advantage of his lineup promotion". Journal Star. April 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Waldner: Lars Nootbaar has upside thanks to versatility". Daily Breeze. May 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "#27 Lars Nootbaar - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Three USC juniors – and only two commits – picked in MLB Draft". Orange County Register. June 7, 2018.
  7. ^ "Former El Segundo High star Lars Nootbaar drafted by Cardinals on 2nd day of MLB Draft". Daily Breeze. June 5, 2018.
  8. ^ McCue, Owen (September 6, 2018). "The best of the Spikes' season includes a proposal, a 7-RBI game and more". Centre Daily Times.
  9. ^ "For Cardinals prospect Lars Nootbaar a season without baseball – and working a 'real' job – renewed his love of the game". February 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Rains, Rob (February 21, 2021). "Here are the new faces in Cardinals camp for 2021". FirstCoastNews.com.
  11. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled".
  12. ^ "Liberatore, Thompson, Oviedo on Cardinals' alternate-camp roster". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "Cardinals select OF Lars Nootbaar".
  14. ^ "Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar: Receives big-league call-up". CBS Sports. June 22, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Hummel, Rick (June 22, 2021). "New Cardinal Nootbaar is a blend of Dutch and Japanese". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  16. ^ "Schoop, Rogers drive in 3 apiece, Tigers beat Cardinals 8-2". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  17. ^ "Cardinals' Nootbaar gets first hit, first assist and probably more playing time". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  18. ^ "Sweep, but bittersweet: Cardinals outlast, out-blast Pirates for 7-6 2in after LeBlanc leaves". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  19. ^ Silver, Zachary (August 16, 2021). "It's not boos you're hearing, it's 'Noooots'". MLB.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  20. ^ "High-Stakes Homecoming". October 6, 2021.
  21. ^ "Hicks, Gorman among Cards heading to AFL".

External links[]

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