Nolan Arenado fulfilling what many with Rockies expected: 'To be great'

Nolan Arenado routinely takes grief from his Latino teammates for his inability to speak Spanish, getting tagged with the nickname Mickey Mouse, a fellow Southern California native.

Arenado, the nonpareil third baseman of the Colorado Rockies, will fling a few Spanish phrases around but acknowledges little fluency in the first language of his parents, Fernando and Millie, a Cuban native married to the daughter of Puerto Ricans.

But for all the joking about Arenado being a fake Latino – spearheaded by his pal Carlos Gonzalez, the two-time All-Star outfielder from Venezuela – he plays the game with a Latin flavor, and with a determination shaped by a father who had to abandon his native island as a kid.

Arenado followed the likes of Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltre, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera growing up, and he learned the nuances of the game from Fernando, who played through junior college, remains involved in the career of Nolan and brother Jonah – a San Francisco Giants farmhand – and still coaches hitting.

"The love of the game and the way I play comes from my family, the Latin side more than anything,'' Nolan Arenado said. "I was born in America and played high school in America, but at the same time, my family, my cousins, the way we play the game, it's all Latin.''

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That combination has him on the verge of his first All-Star Game invite, even with the Rockies again buried in last place in the NL West. Arenado, 24, became the first National League rookie third baseman to win a Gold Glove in 2013, then repeated last season. This year his bat has caught up to his sparkling fielding.

Arenado entered the week leading the majors with 68 RBI, and he ranked in the top five in the NL in home runs (24) and slugging (.599) while batting .283. Those numbers are hardly the product of playing half his games in the hitters' nirvana known as Coors Field. Fifteen of Arenado's home runs have come on the road, where he has a .933 on-base plus slugging percentage, compared to .889 at home.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss said the offensive improvement that has seen Arenado raise his OPS from .706 as a rookie to .828 last season and .913 this year is the reflection of a maturing player who has a good feel for the game and makes quick adjustments.

"He got to the league at 22 years old, very young, and his at-bats would be youthful at times that first year, year and half in the league,'' Weiss said. "He's a more mature hitter. He's more under control in the box. He's got his legs underneath him.''

Arenado also has demonstrated a commitment to making the most of his abundant ability, remaking his 6-2 body by trimming down from 235 pounds early in his pro career to a solid 210 now.

That was partly in response to haranguing from teammate and team leader Troy Tulowitzki, who stayed on him constantly and recently spoke with Arenado about earning All-Star honors and being arguably the league's best at his position, but remaining focused on winning as the main goal.

"Some of those things that maybe he thought I was getting on him or picking on him,'' Tulowitzki said, "it was because I saw he was going to be a really good player and I wanted him to reach his potential, not to just be another good player but to be great.''

Before Tulowitzki could impart his wisdom on what it takes to be a real pro, Arenado had a solid foundation to work with, formed through a bicultural childhood and adolescence in the Orange County town of Lake Forest - about a half-hour from the theme park made famous by his clubhouse namesake.

Pig roasts and quinceaneras

The middle one of three sons, Arenado grew up in a comfortable environment surrounded by seven Cuban American cousins who doubled as his best friends, all within a 10-minute drive. Faith, family and baseball were primary themes in his upbringing, with his parents forming a double-play combination on a local softball team.

Christmas-time pig roasts and quinceaneras – the celebration of a girl's 15th birthday – were interspersed with frequent baseball games with the brothers and cousins. Fernando, a former travel agent who now works in an auto dealership, made sure to remind the youngsters how good they had it.

Said Fernando: "I tell Nolan and his brothers and my nephews all the time: You've been blessed to live in this country, to get opportunities to do anything you want, anything you put your mind to.''

That wasn't the case for Fernando's family, which left Cuba when he was 6 as Fidel Castro established his totalitarian regime. Fernando said his father, Gerardo, was a political prisoner in the island and was blocked from moving to the United States, as so many Cubans did in the initial exodus in the 1960s.

Instead, the family was only allowed to travel to Spain, where it remained for nearly a year until Fernando, his twin brother Gerardo and a 14-year-old cousin were granted visas to enter the U.S. After a difficult journey that included spending two days at a YMCA in New York, the rattled boys joined an aunt in Southern California.

"It was hard when you're 7 years old and with no parents for about 10 months before they came over,'' said Fernando, 54.

His father, a businessman in Cuba, worked in a shoe factory, washed dishes and waited tables to make a living as the family settled in Westminster, a short drive from what's now known as Angel Stadium. Fernando became a fan of staff ace Nolan Ryan and, some 20 years later, named his second son after the Hall of Famer.

'The best tools you've ever seen at third base'

The younger Arenado has lifted his game to such an elite level that Weiss, who played 14 seasons in the majors, and 21-year veteran LaTroy Hawkins both say he's the best defensive third baseman they've ever seen. Earlier this season in San Francisco, Arenado's back-to-the-plate catch of a foul popup while tumbling over the tarp at AT&T Park left mouths agape.

Drafted for his hitting potential out of El Toro High School in the second round of 2009, Arenado was regarded as slow-legged and a suspect defender, with some scouts wondering whether he'd have to move to first base.

But his superior instincts, quick first step and the work he did under Class A manager Jerry Weinstein and infield coordinator Scott Fletcher turned him into such an outstanding fielder that he leads all NL third basemen in Defensive Runs Saved since 2013.

"The way I describe him is, you take the best tools you've ever seen at third base from all the different guys, you put them all into one and that's Nolan Arenado,'' Weiss said.

Offensively, Arenado has already surpassed his career highs in home runs and RBI by being aggressive early in the count. Six of his home runs have come on the first pitch.

The extra power has not come at the expense of more swings and misses. Arenado's strikeout rate of one every 7.4 plate appearances is in line with his career mark of 7.5 – which would yield less than 100 over a full season – although his walk rate remains extremely low at one every 25 plate appearances.

"This year I've been able to take advantage of the mistake pitches,'' Arenado said. "The whole walks thing, I wish I walked more, but at the same time, I feel like if I get caught up in that, I'm going to lose my aggression and lose who I am as a baseball player.''

That's one of the top young players in the game. During a discussion of the emerging faces of the game on the MLB Network last week, the panelists mentioned Arenado in the same select group with the likes of Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.

Even in the company of Tulowitzki, who has been the face of the franchise nearly since his rookie season of 2007 but is now the subject of trade rumors, Arenado is emerging at the Rockies' most vital figure.

"It's kind of cool to watch him every day,'' Hawkins said. "I said the same thing about Trout in 2012. I had a chance to watch him jump on the scene, and it's pretty cool to watch Nolan come into his own.''

Gonzalez knows what it's like to be regarded as one of the game's top players, having won the NL batting crown at age 24 in 2010, when he finished third in the MVP voting. Injuries have sidetracked Gonzalez in recent years, and he warns that to remain at that level, the emotional, driven Arenado will have to prove he can deal with the expectations that come with All-Star status.

Gonzalez likes Arenado's chances better than his Spanish.

"He's always asking me how you say things (in Spanish),'' Gonzalez said with a smile. "He's a very good teammate who loves baseball. I think he's going to be one of the best players in the majors because he has a lot of passion for the game and he loves to work every day.''

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