CINCINNATI – A standard of excellence in hitting and fielding for many years at the hot corner, Nolan Arenado feels he hasn’t reached top form with nearly one-third of the St. Louis Cardinals’ season complete.
Arenado shared with media members after Monday’s game, where he was hitless and made a key error in a loss to Cincinnati, that he doesn’t feel like himself this year. The 33-year-old third baseman took blame for his recent struggles and decrease in production compared to his past All-Star seasons.
His statistics reflect his comments. Arenado’s batting average started the season at .296 but has now dropped to .258. He is currently on pace for 10 home runs and 71 RBIs, significantly lower than his usual 30-HR, 100-RBI performances.
“It’s bad,” admitted Arenado in an interview with MLB.com on Monday. “The swing is not good, my swing is not good. I’ve been working on it and trying to figure this thing out, but my swing is not good.”
He added, “I’m a guy that pulls the ball in the air and I haven’t done that all year. I don’t know what the answers are. I’ve got to continue to try to find it. I can see the difference of when I was good and when I’m not, but trying to apply it in games right now is really hard for me.”
Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, also values his defensive skills. While his errors and fielding percentage are not significantly worse than in recent Gold Glove years, he believes his mistakes have been crucial, like the error he made on Monday which led to two decisive Reds runs.
“It’s disappointing,” Arenado confessed in an interview with STLToday.com. “My error didn’t help. Lance has been doing a great job. We’ve got to pick him up there and make those plays. It’s frustrating. … Not a very good game with those errors, especially mine.”
Despite his struggles, the St. Louis Cardinals have been gaining momentum, winning 10 of their last 13 games and getting closer to the .500 mark. Arenado is reviewing highlights from his past successful performances in the hopes of breaking out of his current offensive and defensive slumps.
The Cardinals are on a nine-game road trip starting with the Reds, followed by games against the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros before heading home on June 6. With a record of 25-27, they are 5.5 games behind in the Central Division and 1.5 games behind in the National League Wild Card race.
