Dear Nolan Arenado… A Letter from a Fan
By Joel Dill
Dear Nolan, er Mr. Arenado, eh Sir:
I am a huge fan of yours. You are really cool. Has anyone ever told you that you are a really good baseball player yet? Because you are. You are, like, really good. I am really glad you got called up to the Rockies team so that I can go see you play more. We took a trip last fall to Phoenix watch you play in the Arizona Fall League. You were the MVP of the whole league! Nolan, you are really, really good.
Apr 29, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
My dad says you are like a baseball vacuum at third base and I agree. The other night when you bare-handed that ball and threw it across your body to nail the runner at first base without even a short-hop… man that was neat. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack. He said he hasn’t seen a Rockies third baseman make plays like yours since the great Vinicio Castilla. I just call him Vinny. Dad is crazy like that sometimes. He about fell out of his chair when you hit your first Grand Slam this last weekend. It seems like every night I will hear my Dad say, “Nolan Arenado, you are a bad, bad man.”… I don’t know what that means but he says it with a smile on his face so it must be good. I think he likes you too. Dad says the way you keep your head down on the ball when you swing is how I should practice hitting. I don’t think I could ever be as good as you though…
Just how good are you? I don’t know if you keep track of this stuff but I’ll tell you anyways. In just your first 9 games you have hit 3 home runs and have 8 runs batted in. Dad calls those things ribbies. Dad is crazy like that sometimes. And all of that offense you’ve supplied from the near bottom of the lineup! Right now you have 1 home run for every 13 plate appearances. That is a lot. I think that if the Rockies had you hit in a different spot in the lineup you would have even more of those ribbies. You only have struck out less than 10% of the time and get on base in over 30% of all plate appearances. I don’t know if you knew this but you are leading all National League Rookies in HR’s/AB, and RBI’s/AB, and you have the least amount of SO’s/AB. Your slugging percentage is even 3rd among all NL Rookies this year too (and really it is 2nd because Matt Adams stats are inflated my Dad says..)! On top of all of that you have an offensive WAR of 0.2 and a defensive WAR of 0.5 already this year! That is really good!!! Chris Nelson, the guy you replaced at 3B, he never gave the Rockies a positive defensive WAR rating in 4 whole seasons!
If you keep this up you will be an All-Star like Tulo and Cargo in no time at all. I think that you will win a Gold Glove at 3B next season, that is what I keep telling everybody. If you keep it up maybe you’ll even win one this year! I think you have the chance to be the best player on the whole team! Even if you’re not, I’ll still like you. Could you give me your autograph or maybe hit a home run for me on your upcoming road trip?? It has been more than 13 plate appearances, so you’re due.
Your Biggest Fan…