St. Louis Cardinals outfielder is congratulated by second baseman Thomas Saggese (25) after blasting a three-run homer in the fifth inning against the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium.
Although the Cardinals suffered a 4-1 defeat to the Atlanta Braves on April 23, Lars Nootbaar made headlines by reaching a historic milestone. Known this season for consistently drawing walks to lead off games, Nootbaar tied a Major League Baseball record that had stood untouched for half a century.
“With his leadoff walk today, Lars Nootbaar has tied … wait for it … an MLB record previously set 50 years ago. Nootbaar has 8 leadoff walks in Cardinals‘ first 25 games to match Davy Lopes’ record for most leadoff BB in 1st month. Nootbaar has 6 more games to own record,” Derrick Goold reported on X (formerly Twitter).
Nootbaar’s strong performance at the plate this season has helped him etch his name in the record books. He recently credited hitting coach Brant Brown for helping him stay consistent.
“[Brant Brown] has done a good job of honing in and nipping things in the bud right when he sees them and then it doesn’t go into a downward spiral,” Nootbaar told MLB.com. “He has good plans and he comes in with a good approach.”