Before he stepped into the batter’s box at Busch Stadium on Friday night as the Seattle Mariners’ starting left fielder, it had been nearly five years to the day since the last time Randy Arozarena played in a game at Busch Stadium.
As he returned to the first ballpark he called his home stadium as a major leaguer, the first visit back brought some “emotion†for the 29-year-old, who was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays in January 2020.
“To come back to the home of the team that gave me the opportunity to reach the big leagues, it’s a real happy feeling for me to be back again,†Arozarena said in Spanish on Friday ahead of the series opener between the Cardinals and Mariners.
“It’s always good to remember the past and to be able to be here and know that ºüÀêÊÓƵ gave me the opportunity to be in the best baseball league in the world,†he later said.
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It comes at a time when he’s looking to help his new team get to where he went with his first team.
“I don’t control that but I’m always going to go out and give the best of me to try and help the team that I’m on,†said Arozarena, who this year was traded from the Rays to the Mariners days before Major League Baseball’s July 30 trade deadline. “To contribute and produce on offense and also on defense. My season has been ups and down, but I’m always keeping myself positive to try and help the team in every moment.â€
Arozarena debuted in the majors in 2019 and appeared in 19 regular-season games for the Cardinals as a late-season call-up. He played his first game at Busch Stadium on Sept. 4, 2019, and got his first taste of the postseason that October in the National League Division Series and National League Championship Series.
Across the five years since his first game at the Cardinals’ home ballpark, he became an All-Star in 2022, the American League Rookie of the Year in 2021, and earned American League Championship Series MVP honors for his postseason heroics with Tampa Bay in 2020. He was dealt to the Mariners for a package that included two prospects and a player to be named.
Arozarena batted .211 with a .712 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and 15 home runs in 100 games for Tampa Bay before the deal. Since the trade, through Friday he had produced a .238 batting average and a .743 OPS. He’s gone from sporting a 108 weight runs created-plus (wRC+) for Tampa Bay to a 126 wRC+ for Seattle.
On Friday, Arozarena went one for four with an RBI that came on a sacrifice fly in the Mariners’ 6-1 win. Arozarena and the Mariners entered Saturday’s playb 4½ games behind Minnesota for the AL’s third, and final, wild-card playoff spot.
“It feels good,†Arozarena said about joining a team in the playoff chase. “We have to keep playing how we are playing to try and win as many games as we can to clinch (a postseason spot), which is the first goal.â€
Morris, Duncan, Kurowski inducted
The Cardinals on Saturday inducted Matt Morris, Dave Duncan and Whitey Kurowski into their team hall of fame during an afternoon ceremony at Ballpark Village. They also were recognized before Saturday night’s game.
Twelve Cardinals Hall of Famers, not including the three who were inducted, were at the induction ceremony. Other former Cardinals in attendance included Albert Pujols, Davis Eckstein, Dennis Eckersley, and Dave Stewart. Manager Marmol was also in attendance.
Morris, 50, was a two-time All-Star during his time as a Cardinal from 1997 to 2005. He went 101-62 with a 3.61 ERA for his Cardinals career. The right-hander joked that he was aiming to take Jose Oquendo’s award for shortest speech but did not do so.
Duncan, 78, served as Cardinals’ pitching coach from 1996 to 2011 — the fourth-longest tenure in Cardinals history. The Cardinals ranked in the top half of the National League in ERA during 12 seasons under Duncan and won two World Series in that span.
Kurowski, who died at the age of 81 in 1999, won three World Series with the Cardinals (1942, 1943, and 1946) and was named to five consecutive NL All-Star teams as a Cardinal. Kurowski, who played for the Cardinals from 1941 to 1949, was represented by his family.
Extra bases
Brendan Donovan was absent from the Cardinals’ starting lineup on Saturday because of an infection in his foot, manager Oliver Marmol said. Marmol said Donovan’s infection flared up overnight and it made it difficult for Donovan to put pressure on his foot. Donovan is said to be day-to-day.
Nolan Arenado started on Saturday after being pinch-hit for in the ninth inning on Friday because of discomfort in his left shoulder.
Chris Roycroft was promoted from Class AAA Memphis as Kyle Leahy, who threw 39 pitches on Friday, was sent there. Roycroft had a 2.60 ERA in 17â…“ innings in the minors since he was optioned on July 31. Roycroft, a 27-year-old rookie, has a 4.15 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 30â…“ innings in the majors this season.