Ready for 'The Show': Herrera hammers 1st career HR

ST. LOUIS -- Everything Iván Herrera had been through in previous years -- the two MLB stints where he failed to stick, becoming the Cardinals’ Minor League hitter of the year in 2023, his promotion to the big leagues as Willson Contreras’ backup and his strong Caribbean World Series and Spring Training leading into this season -- prepared him for what he had to face on Thursday at the Cardinals' chilly home opener at Busch Stadium.

Inserted into the lineup 90 minutes before first pitch and tasked with hitting cleanup when Contreras was ruled out because of a bruised left hand, the 23-year-old Herrera didn’t have long to be nervous about being thrust onto the grandest stage he’d ever played on. Ultimately, he proved himself worthy of that challenge by hitting his first MLB home run, singling in a run during the Cardinals' five-run, game-turning seventh inning and scoring the go-ahead run from first base as St. Louis rallied past the Marlins, 8-5.

Herrera’s trek to get to the Cardinals' home opener and playing before a sellout crowd of 47,273 has certainly been anything but linear, but he stressed that all the setbacks he had endured along the way made Thursday’s success sweeter.

“It took me three years [to get his first MLB home run], but it felt awesome, running the bases and looking at all the fans,” said Herrera, who got a joyous laundry cart ride into the shower where teammates doused him with ice cream, chocolate milk and other random condiments. “That’s a dream come true for me, and I hope I can keep doing it to help our team win.”

Herrera accomplished another dreamy moment after the game when he met the fan who caught his 414-foot, second-inning homer off Marlins left-hander Ryan Weathers. To retrieve the ball from his first homer -- which will soon be memorialized by assistant athletic trainer and team calligrapher Chris Conroy -- Herrera had to trade an autographed bat, which he was more than happy to give away for the memento that has been a long time coming.

Herrera, a native of Panama, has long been considered one of the Cardinals' top prospects, but he lasted just 11 games at the big league level in 2022 and only 13 games in '23 when his defensive skills and game-prep practices were found to need improvement. A change came, Herrera said, when none other than Cardinals icon Yadier Molina told him to focus on improving his defense if he ever wanted to be a mainstay in the big leagues.

“It took me a couple of years to figure out that defense was going to be very important for me and that came from Yadi, who I think is the best defensive catcher ever,” Herrera said. “He would tell me, ‘I know you can hit, but worry about your defense!’ This year I put in extra work on my defense with receiving and blocking balls. I still need to get better with the throws, but it’s going to come for me.”

Limited to just three hits through six innings on Thursday, the Cardinals kept thinking a big rally was coming from a lineup they believed to be stacked. Down 5-3 in the seventh, Herrera got the Cardinals within a run by singling back up the middle to plate Paul Goldschmidt. From there, the Marlins went to lefty Andrew Nardi and Nolan Gorman made him pay with a double into the right-field corner. Herrera got a great jump on the first-pitch double and scored from first to give the Cardinals their first lead since his early homer had made it 1-0.

“I’m not surprised with anything [Herrera] does; actually, I’m surprised that’s his first [MLB home run],” said Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, who had an RBI triple to complete the five-run seventh inning. “I’ve seen that dude whack for a second year now and he’s unbelievable. The dude is a pure hitter.”

The Cardinals cleared room for Herrera to make their Opening Day roster when they non-tendered long-time backup Andrew Knizner in November. Herrera rewarded that decision by being named as an All-Star in the Caribbean World Series for his native Panama and hitting .333 with two homers, two doubles and seven RBIs in Spring Training.

When his big moment came to fill in for the injured Contreras on Thursday, Herrera was ready.

“I know my first year [in the big leagues], I wasn’t the player I am today because I didn’t take it serious like I should have,” Herrera said. “They decided to bring in Willson and I was OK with that because I felt like I wasn’t ready.

“My second year was a little different, but this year [the Cardinals] had confidence in me. I just want to say thank you to the Cardinals for this opportunity, and I’m here to win.”