PHOENIX 鈥 Seated in the front row of the home dugout at Chase Field hours before that day鈥檚 ballgame, former big league infielder and current Arizona Diamondbacks assistant hitting coach Damion Easley couldn鈥檛 help but break into a grin while talking about an opposing player on a National League rival team.
Of course, Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman isn鈥檛 just a name on a scouting report or a vaguely familiar figure in a different jersey.
Easley has been watching the 23-year-old Gorman play for roughly 14 years, including four years when Gorman made himself a highly touted draft prospect at Sandra Day O鈥機onnor High School in Glendale, Arizona. Easley served as a member of the high school coaching staff for Gorman鈥檚 entire prep career. They鈥檝e remained in contact since Gorman graduated in 2018.
Asked if he鈥檚 been able to follow Gorman鈥檚 trek through professional baseball, Easley replied, 鈥淎s much as I can.鈥
People are also reading…
鈥淒efinitely, I want to see him succeed and play a long time just because I know the person that he is,鈥 Easley continued. 鈥淵ou root for people like that, that are talented but have some humility to them. He鈥檚 just a good person that鈥檚 talented. So I鈥檒l always watch. I watched when he was in the minor leagues.鈥
Gorman just might have the largest potential impact of any of the Cardinals young core of homegrown position players. A 6-foot-1, 225-pound left-handed-hitting middle infielder who led the club in home runs (27) and slugging percentage (.478) last season, Gorman still has played fewer than 230 games in the majors.
His career slugging percentage of .454 entering the season was the third-highest for a Cardinals left-handed hitter before reaching age 24 and ranked only behind Hall of Famers Stan Musial (.539) and Enos Slaughter (.464).
Much of what the Cardinals hope to reap the benefits of for years to come with Gorman 鈥 his ability to play on the infield, his impactful bat and approach at the plate 鈥 were influenced by Easley during some of Gorman鈥檚 formative years as a ballplayer.
How impactful were the interactions? Enough that when tasked with identifying the biggest thing he learned from Easley, Gorman sat back in his seat, his eyes wandering slightly as if searching for the appropriate starting point.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to pick out just one thing,鈥 Gorman said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much, from defense to hitting, that if I were to pick one thing, I think it wouldn鈥檛 do him justice in how good of coach he is.
鈥淪o really, just how to play the game. How to see things on the field. Being aware of situations, different situations that you get in a game, in the box, how to approach pitchers. Literally, the list goes on.鈥
Moving around the dirt
Easley enjoyed a long playing career of his own before he helped shaped players like Gorman and many others. Easley鈥檚 son Jayce (now a minor league player in the Texas Rangers organization) played the infield alongside Gorman at Sandra Day O鈥機onnor.
A 30th-round draft pick by the California Angels in 1988, Easley spent parts of 17 seasons in the majors as a second baseman, shortstop and third baseman, and he played for the Angels, Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Mets. He earned an All-Star selection and won a Silver Slugger Award (both in 1998).
Gorman came into the Cardinals organization as a third baseman, and he played third base exclusively in the minors until the 2021 season. He debuted in the majors in May of the following season at second baseman.
The defensive metrics show Gorman has made strides at second base each season at the big league level, particularly coming in on grounders and going to his backhand. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol points to those areas when talking about Gorman鈥檚 improvement.
鈥淗e鈥檚 playing a really good second base, and he has put in a ton of work to be able to do that,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淚 mean, this is a guy that you thought about, defensively, replacing. And now, you trust him out there regardless of situation. He turns a really good double play. He鈥檚 getting to balls, backhand, four-hole, it doesn鈥檛 matter. He鈥檚 doing a really nice job there. To his credit, he鈥檚 put in a heck of a lot of work.鈥
Gorman wasn鈥檛 a third baseman until he met Easley. Gorman played shortstop up until his freshman year of high school. He credits Easley with helping him make his initial move around the infield.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the one who helped me with that transition over to third base, and it鈥檚 probably what made it a lot easier for me to transition to second base,鈥 Gorman said. 鈥淗e kind of treated me as a shortstop still at third base, and then that translates into second base because you鈥檙e always wanting to move your feet and not get in a standstill.鈥
Gorman still recalls Easley pushing the entire high school team defensively and instilling the importance of getting 27 outs cleanly. They鈥檇 need to record 27 outs successively or they鈥檇 start over at the beginning, 鈥渘o matter what.鈥
Blending power with patience
Gorman鈥檚 initial impression on Easley came when Gorman鈥檚 youth team clashed with Jayce鈥檚 team. They were rival squads from ages 9 to 13.
Even then, Gorman smacked baseballs to the far reaches of the Little League fields.
鈥淚t was definitely the swing,鈥 Easley said of Gorman鈥檚 power. 鈥淗e has a short, compact swing 鈥 sometimes even too short at times. But he always had the bat speed. You can see he鈥檚 physically built. He鈥檚 always been that way. Even at 9, 10 years old, he still had a strong build to him. So I think that was just genetics from that aspect, but the swing is tight. It鈥檚 connected. It鈥檚 not long and lazy.鈥
That swing quickly gave Gorman a reputation in the prep ranks.
Gorman earned the first of three consecutive all-state selections in 2016. In a span of a month in 2017, he won the High School Home Run Derby at the MLB All-Star Game at Marlins Park, the Area Code Games Home Run Derby at Long Beach State University and the Under Armour All-American Game Home Run Derby at Wrigley Field.
A problem accompanied that reputation: Opponents didn鈥檛 want to pitch to Gorman.
鈥淗e was easily the best hitter in his class, at least in Arizona,鈥 Easley said. 鈥淪o he had notoriety everywhere he went. There were a lot of times he didn鈥檛 get pitched to 鈥 a lot of times. He just didn鈥檛 get pitches to hit or he鈥檇 get soft stuff, a lot of soft stuff in any count because they didn鈥檛 care if they walked him. They didn鈥檛 want to just intentionally walk him because there was scouts there to watch him. ...
鈥淭here were times he got frustrated with that, tried to fire on some pitches that he shouldn鈥檛. You get it. You鈥檙e there to play baseball. You don鈥檛 want to hold the bat on your shoulder. So he did as good as he could with what he got.鈥
Gorman walked 46 times as a senior on his way to a .640 on-base percentage to go along with a .421 batting average and 10 home runs. He led his team to the program鈥檚 first state championship.
With opponents feeding him a steady diet of pitches away, Gorman and Easley focused on Gorman being able to hit the outside pitch for power the other way, up the middle and even to the pull side.
Was there an overarching message Gorman received from Easley?
鈥淚 think the biggest thing he would say is, 鈥楾ake your walks,鈥欌 Gorman said. 鈥淟iterally, that鈥檚 all you can do. And if you鈥檙e out there chasing pitches, trying to impress people that are in the stands that are decision-makers, they don鈥檛 want to see you swinging at bad pitches. That鈥檚 just going to hurt you more than anything. So it was just all about taking my walks and waiting for that one good pitch that maybe I get in a game.鈥
Familiarity among foes
While Easley now wears a different uniform than Gorman, he certainly knows what makes the Cardinals young power hitter tick.
Gorman maintains a relatively stoic demeanor on the field. Whether he鈥檚 on a tear or in a slump, he typically gives an even-keeled vibe. Easley recognizes Gorman鈥檚 reserved nature, but he also knows what lies beneath the surface.
鈥淚t affects him more than you would think because he is truly, truly driven, not just to be great but to win,鈥 Easley said. 鈥淪o I just have a lot of respect for how he goes about his business. It bothers him more than he lets on, for sure.鈥
Gorman entered Thursday鈥檚 off-day having not gotten into a consistent groove so far this season. He鈥檚 batting .197 and slugging .379 with three home runs and 26 strikeouts. He had a hit in each of the three games in Arizona, but he went 0 for 8 in the two games he played in Oakland.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got a big fire in his belly,鈥 Easley said. 鈥淗e is really, really competitive. Not just wants to win but expects to win. Don鈥檛 be fooled by the (reserved nature). It鈥檚 burning hot, not out of control, but he definitely has that drive.鈥
Even when Gorman was in the minors, the two kept in contact and exchanged texts. Gorman described it as having a resource 鈥渋n my back pocket.鈥 Gorman took advantage of Easley as the sounding board, another voice to bounce things off in addition to the Cardinals coaches.
The Cardinals and Diamondbacks clashed last weekend in Arizona, and they will next week in 狐狸视频. Gorman said he usually catches up with Easley at least once when the teams play.
Often, the discussions veer more toward life in general than baseball.
鈥淚 guess you consider him a friend, but he鈥檚 a little bit more than a friend to me,鈥 Gorman said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just a really good dude that I want to be able to stay in contact with for a long time. He鈥檚 someone that has helped me in my career so much so that I鈥檓 grateful for him and everything that he鈥檚 done. So I try to get with him and just talk, whether it鈥檚 about baseball or not. ... He鈥檚 an unbelievable dude.鈥