HOUSTON – Just more than two years removed from his MLB debut, Nolan Gorman is riding a power surge that very few have matched in St. Louis Cardinals history.
Gorman enjoyed a multi-home run game in the Cardinals’ series opener Monday against the Houston Astros, which bumps his team-leading total to 13 home runs this year. Both of his blasts came against future Hall-of-Fame hopeful Justin Verlander.
Gorman has nine of those in his last 19 games dating back to May 12, a pace of one home run every other game during that stretch.
What else? Gorman has five home runs over the past calendar week, passing 50 in his Cardinals career.
Over the last week alone, he jumped up 15 spots in the Cardinals’ all-time leaderboard. Gorman’s 54 home runs are tied with Darrell Porter for the 56th-most in Cardinals history. He also passed the likes of Frankie Frisch, Gary Gaetti, and Marcell Ozuna, among others, with this recent stretch.
What else? Gorman now has eight multi-home run games in his Cardinals career, tied for 16th all-time and just one behind Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina.
What else? Gorman is just the 12th player to hit at least 13 home runs over the first 58 games of two seasons in a Cardinals uniform, completing that feat Monday and doing so in first two full seasons back-to-back.
What else? Gorman was one of just three players with at least 40 home runs in a Cardinals uniform before his 24th birthday (May 10). He finished with 43 up to that point, a number that puts him in exclusive company with Albert Pujols and Joe Medwick.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Gorman told FOX 2 that he takes pride in his power, and he wants to use his strentgh to become a more well-rounded player.
“It’s a good trait to have, but honestly, I try to get the ball back where it came from, put good swings, take good at-bats for the team, and do anything I can to help,” said Gorman in a spring training interview with FOX 2.
If Gorman matches last season’s home run total (27), he will move within the franchise’s Top 50 home run leaders, passing Cardinals Hall-of-Famers Red Schoendienst and Willie McGee among others.
The Cardinals (28-30) take on the Houston Astros for two more road matchups before returning home for a seven-game road series, which begins on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies.