If he were to retire today, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado would already have a pretty interesting case to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
He is not yet 32, but he can say he has earned more accolades and awards than most of the third basemen already in Cooperstown.
Not only that, but judging by what we all saw in 2022, he remains very much at the top of his game.
What he has earned to this point is nothing short of amazing.
Nolan Arenado accolades by year:
2013 GG
2014 GG
2015 AS, GG, SS, MVP-8
2016 AS, GG, SS, MVP-5
2017 AS, GG, PG, SS, MVP-4
2018 AS, GG, PG, SS, MVP-3
2019 AS, GG, PG, MVP-6
2020 GG, PG
2021 AS, GG, PG
2022 AS, GG, PG, SS, MVP-3One of the greatest players of our generation. pic.twitter.com/dKN18M6viY
—MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) February 22, 2023
Let’s start with the obvious: Arenado has been, with some debate, the most impressive defensive player of his generation.
He is a true vacuum at the hot corner: he has instincts, footwork, reflexes, soft hands, and a cannon of an arm.
He has won 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards, and has also taken home an impressive six Platinum Gloves, given to the best defender among all positions.
He is quite dangerous with the bat, too.
He is a career .289/.346/.535 hitter with 299 home runs and an .881 OPS.
Most of those numbers came with the Colorado Rockies.
When he was traded to the Cards before the 2021 campaign, many people questioned his ability to produce outside of Coors Field.
He has responded with 64 home runs and 208 RBI in the last two years.
His overall resume is amazing.
“Overall: 7x All-Star, 5x Silver Slugger, 10x Gold Glove, 6x Platinum Glove, 6x Top-10 in MVP voting, 299 home runs, 124 OPS+, 52.2 WAR. And he’s only 31. One of the greatest and most under-appreciated players of our generation in my opinion,” MLB Metrics tweeted.
Overall:
7x All-Star
5x Silver Sluggers
10x Gold Gloves
6x Platinum Gloves
6x Top-10 in MVP voting
299 home runs
124 OPS+
52.2 WARAnd he’s only 31. One of the greatest and most under-appreciated players of our generation in my opinion.
—MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) February 22, 2023
There is no doubt that Arenado is a future Hall of Famer.
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