Lars Nootbaar

Lars Nootbaar
Nootbar with the Cardinals in 2024
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 21
Outfielder
Born: (1997-09-08) September 8, 1997 (age 27)
El Segundo, California, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 22, 2021, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.246
Home runs45
Runs batted in146
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2023 Miami Team

Lars Taylor-Tatsuji Nootbaar (born September 8, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). On the international level, he represents the Japan national baseball team.

Born and raised in El Segundo, California, Nootbaar played three seasons of college baseball at the University of Southern California. The Cardinals selected him in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB draft, and he was in their minor league system for four seasons before making his MLB debut in 2021.

Early life and amateur career

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Nootbaar with the State College Spikes in 2018

Nootbaar was born to an American father of Dutch descent, Charlie Nootbaar, and a Japanese mother, Kumiko Enokida.[1] Nootbaar grew up in El Segundo, California.

He later 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.[2] 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.[3]

Nootbaar was a three-year starter for the USC Trojans, where his older brother Nigel had played.[4] He was named All-Pac-12 Conference as a sophomore after hitting .313 with 34 RBIs, 33 runs scored, and seven home runs.[5] Following the season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6] As a junior, Nootbaar had a .249 batting average with six home runs and 24 runs batted in (RBIs).[7]

Professional career

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The St. Louis Cardinals selected Nootbaar in the eighth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[8] 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.[9] 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.[4][10] 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.[11] In 2020, the minor league season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

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

On June 22, 2021, Nootbaar was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[15] At the time of his promotion, he had a .329/.430/.557 slash line with five home runs and 17 RBIs over 22 games.[16] He made his MLB debut that day as the starting left fielder against the Detroit Tigers.[17] The following day, Nootbaar recorded his first career hit, a triple.[18] He hit his first career home run as a pinch-hitter off JT Brubaker in a 7–6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 12.[19] Nootbaar hit another pinch-hit home run the next day in a 6–0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.[20] On August 25, Nootbaar got his first career walk-off hit, a single in the 10th inning against Tigers relief pitcher Michael Fulmer.[21] Nootbaar finished the 2021 season slashing .239/.317/.422 with five home runs and 15 RBIs over 109 at-bats.[22] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs after the season.[23]

Nootbaar entered the 2022 season as the Cardinals' fourth outfielder before eventually moving into a starting role after injuries and positive play. Over 108 games and 290 at-bats for St. Louis, he hit .228/.340/.448 with 14 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 16 doubles.[24] Nootbaar mainly played in center field for the Cardinals in 2023, also spending time in left and right field. Over 117 games, he batted .261 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs.[25]

International career

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Nootbaar with the WBC Japan national team at Tokyo Dome on March 16, 2023

In 2006, a Japan national youth team toured the US, including future MLB player Masahiro Tanaka and Japanese high school pitching phenom Yuki Saito.[26] Nootbaar served as a batboy and interacted with the team, including stretching and playing catch, and some of the players stayed at his house and shared meals with the family.[26] According to his mother, this experience was later influential to Nootbaar accepting an offer to join the Japan national team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The team went on to win the tournament, with Nootbaar batting leadoff and recording an RBI in the gold-medal match against the United States national team.[27][28] Nootbaar was the first player not born in Japan to represent the country in a World Baseball Classic.[29]

Personal life

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Nootbaar's parents met while they were students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.[16] Nootbaar's older brother, Nigel, was a pitcher at USC and played professionally in the Baltimore Orioles system.[30][31]

During the 2022 season, Nootbaar became a fan favorite among Cardinals fans, often being greeted with "Nooooot!" when batting or making a defensive play, which may be mistaken for booing.[32]

References

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  1. ^ Denton, John (August 19, 2022). "Noot dishes on nickname, personality and ... making Goldy giggle?". MLB.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  2. ^ Viscara, Angel (March 29, 2016). "Nootbaar Much More Than A Nifty Name For The Trojans Lineup". USCAnnenbergMedia.com.
  3. ^ Angel, Randy (September 16, 2014). "Nootbaar leads El Segundo into unchartered Ocean waters". Easy Reader News. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Chiefs leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar taking advantage of his lineup promotion". Journal Star. April 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Waldner: Lars Nootbaar has upside thanks to versatility". Daily Breeze. May 19, 2018.
  6. ^ "#27 Lars Nootbaar – Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Kaufman, Joey (June 7, 2018). "Three USC juniors – and only two commits – picked in MLB Draft". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  8. ^ Calhoun, Damian (June 5, 2018). "Former El Segundo High star Lars Nootbaar drafted by Cardinals on 2nd day of MLB Draft". Daily Breeze. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  9. ^ McCue, Owen (September 6, 2018). "The best of the Spikes' season includes a proposal, a 7-RBI game and more". Centre Daily Times.
  10. ^ Rains, Rob (February 24, 2021). "For Cardinals prospect Lars Nootbaar a season without baseball – and working a 'real' job – renewed his love of the game". ksdk.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  11. ^ Rains, Rob (February 21, 2021). "Here are the new faces in Cardinals camp for 2021". FirstCoastNews.com.
  12. ^ Todd, Jeff (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  13. ^ "Liberatore, Thompson, Oviedo on Cardinals' alternate-camp roster". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "Cardinals select OF Lars Nootbaar" (Press release). MLB.com. June 22, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  15. ^ "Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar: Receives big-league call-up". CBS Sports. June 22, 2021.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "Schoop, Rogers drive in 3 apiece, Tigers beat Cardinals 8–2". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  18. ^ "Cardinals' Nootbaar gets first hit, first assist and probably more playing time". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ Silver, Zachary (August 16, 2021). "It's not boos you're hearing, it's 'Noooots'". MLB.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  21. ^ "Goldy homers twice, Nootbaar walks it off in Cards' 3–2 win over Tigers". www.ballysports.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  22. ^ "High-Stakes Homecoming". Rafu Shimpo. October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  23. ^ Silver, Zachary (September 29, 2021). "Hicks, Gorman among Cards heading to AFL". MLB.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  24. ^ "Lars Nootbaar Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  25. ^ Gordon, Jeff (October 4, 2023). "Injuries, hitter regression mean frustrating season for Cardinals: Gordon's final grades". STLtoday.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Baseball: Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar headed for Japan reunion of sorts". Mainichi Daily News. January 28, 2023.
  27. ^ "United States vs. Japan". ESPN.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  28. ^ "Lars Nootbaar Gains HUGE Instagram Following During WBC As Cardinals Teammate Issues Warning To Gold Medalist". OutKick. March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  29. ^ "Nootbaar, Yoshida named to Japan's WBC roster". ESPN.com. January 26, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Pleskoff, Bernie (January 20, 2022). "A Trade For St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar Would Make Sense For Cleveland Guardians". Forbes. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  31. ^ "Nigel Nootbaar". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  32. ^ Hochman, Benjamin. "Ten Hochman: Why St. Louis loves to 'Nooooot!' for Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar". STLtoday.com. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
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