最新杏吧原创

What happens when the bat loses its magic?

It鈥檚 a problem the Cardinals faced as May turned to June. Lars Nootbaar, their mantle of consistency at the top of the lineup, had fallen into a slump. His bat had gone cold before: During a stretch of seven games between the end of April and early May, Nootbaar went just 2 for 27 at the plate.

But this time around was a different kind of struggle. From the second game of a doubleheader against the Royals on June 5 until June 13, Nootbaar went 1 for 32 with 17 strikeouts. He was taken out of the lineup following the June 13 contest against Milwaukee.

He wasn鈥檛 relegated to the bench because of health, which had happened five times since 2023. Instead, it was the bat that was failing him, not his body.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to enjoy it,鈥� Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of the slump. 鈥淵ou try to continue to find joy in seeing other people鈥檚 success and supporting other guys.鈥�

Nootbaar鈥檚 struggles weren鈥檛 what was most worrying. Rather, it was how he was struggling. Since arriving in the majors in 2021, he鈥檇 built a reputation of being able to combine patience with power. Last season, he was one of just five players in the league in the 90th percentile in chase rate and hard-hit percentage according to Statcast.

But the pillars that held up Nootbaar鈥檚 reputation cracked. From June 5-13, Nootbaar鈥檚 O-swing rate 鈥� how often he鈥檚 swinging on pitches outside of the stroke zone 鈥� leapt to 32.1%, way up from last season鈥檚 mark of 17% per Statcast. Plus, his O-contact percentage 鈥� how often he makes contact with those pitches outside of the zone 鈥� sunk to 48.1% during that stretch. Last season, that number was 59.3%.

Essentially, Nootbaar was swinging at more pitches outside of the zone and making less contact with them while also striking out quite a bit.

鈥淚f I could tell you, I probably would鈥檝e fixed it sooner,鈥� Nootbaar said on what changed during that stretch.

After two days out of the starting lineup, Nootbaar was slotted into the No. 7 spot for the series opener against the White Sox.

While lineup shifts are common in baseball, Nootbaar hadn鈥檛 batted anywhere but the top of the lineup since the end of last season. He鈥檇 also never gone five straight complete games without a hit in his MLB career. Dating back to his high school days in El Segundo, California, and his college days at Southern California, these extended periods of futility were rare.

But even when Nootbaar was down, he was still finding ways to stay up.

鈥淚 feel like he failed well,鈥� Marmol said.

Even if swings didn鈥檛 result in success, negativity wouldn鈥檛 permeate his head.

鈥淕uys go through stretches,鈥� Nootbaar said.

Sure enough, Nootbar bounced back, just like he did in May when he put together an eight-game hit streak following a slump.

After going hitless in the series opener at Rate Field, Nootbaar would go on a four-game hit streak. That included a 10th-inning solo home run in the series finale, a 113 mph laser into right field.

鈥淐onfidence,鈥� Nootbaar said on what changed upon his return to the starting lineup. 鈥淭his game is a lot of mental, and so when you don鈥檛 feel (the ball) on your barrel for a little, you start to lose the feeling of what it feels like. Sometimes, you just need to feel it on the barrel.鈥�

Upon returning home last weekend for a series against Cincinnati, Nootbaar kept the good times rolling.

Facing the Reds鈥� Brady Singer, the former Florida Gator threw a sinker, a pitch Nootbaar had struggled to hit in recent games. But Nootbar smoked a double into right-center field. In the seventh inning, after the Cardinals had scored four runs to give Andre Pallante much-needed run support, Nootbaar provided the cherry on top, looping a single into left field that scored Nolan Gorman from third.

Additionally, Nootbaar鈥檚 pillars of patience were remodeled. Over four games from June 19-21, his O-swing rate was down to 18.4%, while his strikeout rate went down to 27.8%.

The bounce-back can be traced back to Nootbaar remaining emotionally consistent throughout his struggles.

鈥淚 think he鈥檚 handled it well, even when it was not going his way at all,鈥� Marmol said. 鈥淚 felt like he was carrying it in a way that was good. Obviously, you鈥檙e going to have your days where you鈥檙e extremely frustrated and down on yourself. But I thought he ... showed up every day and was consistent with his overall attitude and approach.鈥�

While Nootbaar seems to be recapturing his groove, he said Sunday he鈥檚 flexible as to how the Cardinals use him in the lineup. And he鈥檚 shown the value in that attitude this week against the Cubs, hitting a two-run shot in Monday鈥檚 8-2 victory and another two-run homer in Tuesday鈥檚 8-7 win, both while batting fifth in the order.

鈥淲hatever they think is best, I鈥檓 willing to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 really matter to me, honestly.鈥�

Bobby Bowden, the legendary football coach who helped turn Florida State into a national powerhouse in the late 1980s and 1990s, broke down building a program into four stages: losing big, losing close, winning close and winning big.

Using that model, Nootbaar experienced the first two stages during his slump. Now, he seems to be headed to Stage 3, a welcome sight for a guy whose positive on-field energy is another key pillar of his personality.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good to see him smiling,鈥� Marmol said, 鈥渁nd actually enjoying playing some baseball.鈥�