'Fiery is an understatement': Arenado leading with actions

This story was excerpted from John Denton's Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHILADELPHIA -- Undoubtedly, there is tremendous beauty and flair in Nolan Arenado’s game, what with the way he plays third base like some combination of a graceful ballerina, a sure-handed wide receiver and a brazen cat burglar.

Meanwhile, at the plate, Arenado is a fidgety bundle of nerves and someone eager to pounce on a pitcher’s next mistake. Admittedly, there is rarely a time when he’s not thinking about hitting, so when he’s in the batter’s box, he’s anxious to use the intel he picked up from tirelessly watching film or pounding baseballs in the batting cage to do damage.

But the true beauty of Arenado’s game lies within the fire that burns deep inside of him and occasionally splashes and spills during games. Challenge Arenado and you might get burned -- such as when he angrily barked at Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber and basically challenged the whole Phillies dugout Saturday. Arenado’s white-hot fire operates as the fuel that drives him to be great at everything he does, and it pushes him to not take anything for granted. Also, it is the furnace that propels him toward burning as hot in the first inning as the ninth and as intensely scorching in a June regular-season game as an October playoff game.

Arenado is a modern-day superstar in every sense of the word, a nine-time Gold Glover and a future Hall of Famer. But he’s also a relentless grinder who scratches and claws like a no-name Minor Leaguer. What those around him love most is how he motivates with his infectious energy and his refusal to yield in any way.

“Fiery is an understatement because he doesn’t want to give anything away,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He’s ultra-competitive in every aspect of the game. You see a slugger like him, it’s easy to just think of his offense, but he puts so much preparation into every part of his game. This guy wants to win every inch of the game, so I’m glad he’s on our side.”

Rookie Juan Yepez said he had always marveled at Arenado’s talent from afar, but after becoming a member of the Cardinals, he got a peek behind the curtain at the preparation, focus and intensity that makes the perennial All-Star great.

“You see a star like him and [Paul Goldschmidt] too, playing so hard, working hard on defense, hitting in the cage and lifting [weights], and for us rookies, we look up to that and want to do the same thing,” said Yepez, who was a part of the Cardinals' historic four-home run binge Saturday. “If they’re getting paid what they are and working as hard as they are, you ask yourself, ‘How am I not doing that, too?’ It’s great having leaders like that on this team.”

Hearing that kind of praise means everything to Arenado, one of the true pillars of the Cardinals organization with the way he approaches each challenge and each game. He, like Goldschmidt, would prefer to lead with his actions instead of his words. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak refers to Arenado and Goldschmidt as “savants,” because “they’re always pushing to get better and find an edge.” In some ways, Arenado prefers the term “grinder” over any sort of flowery praise about his Gold Glove defense or his attack-mode approach at the plate.

“What I want is to have an effect on younger players,” Arenado said. “I’m not a standoffish guy but I want them to know they have to grind on this level, and you have to constantly be looking for ways to get better and push every day. This game is hard, and I don’t ever want any complacency in my game. That’s what I’m trying to show others.”