![The St. Louis Cardinals face the Atlanta Braves](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=150%2C108 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=200%2C145 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=225%2C163 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=300%2C217 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=400%2C289 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=540%2C390 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=640%2C463 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=750%2C542 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=990%2C716 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C748 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C868 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C964 1333w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C1067 1476w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/55/755ff378-b5c2-58e7-9b5b-741e182c9721/667c73950c347.image.jpg?resize=1693%2C1224 2008w)
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (16) swings and misses in the 4th inning during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
There was once a Cardinals’ lefty slugger with a .930 OPS.
He’d homer in bunches and strike out a bunch, but it worked out well, considering the OPS in the "nines." And it was August 26 of the season.
What happened next was hard to watch.
As the 2016 Cardinals battled for a wild card, slugger Brandon Moss stopped slugging.
In his final 31 games, Moss had an OPS of .358. In 106 at-bats, he hit .094 with three homers and 39 strikeouts.
The Cards went 16-15 in those games and barely missed the playoffs.
“September Brandon Moss” is a reference some Cards fans understand right away, even today.
And that’s basically who Nolan Gorman was in June of 2024.
People are also reading…
On June 4, the lefty slugger had a .829 OPS. He’d homered four times in the previous three games.
What happened next was hard to watch.
Gorman became a liability.
Since June 4 — 24 games — Gorman had an OPS of .305.
In that stretch, his batting average was a miniscule .083. He hit two homers and no doubles or triples. And he struck out an astounding (even for Gorman) 37 times in 84 at-bats.
The difference between Moss’ infamous September and Gorman’s infamous June was that the Cards won more with Gorman. St. Louis went 15-9 in those games. But let’s not kid ourselves. St. Louis needs its reigning home run leader to hit home runs. It’s tough to imagine the Cardinals staying afloat with “NoGo” a no-go (and Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado struggling, too).
“There are a couple things that he's been working on — making contact was big part of the discussion because the punch-out rate was climbing,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said before Sunday’s game. “He flew out deep (Friday) game and then (Saturday), made more contact (on fly ball outs). But I mean, yeah, the reality is he's going through a little bit of a funk right now and he's trying to figure it out. And he's grinding through it, but it's not a lack of effort or attention to detail on his end. He's been working like crazy. And it's frustrating for him. …
“Yes, (when he swings) he's always going miss under, that's who he is; he doesn't miss on the ground. So more contact is more of a conversation than getting underneath the ball.”
Gorman’s new walk-up song is “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” but the at-bats have remained nightmarish.
In his first at-bat Sunday, he swung-and-missed at strikes one, two and three.
In his second at-bat, the first strike was called. The second strike was one of the worst swings I’ve seen in awhile. And he then struck out swinging, yet again.
In his third at-bat, yep, he struck out swinging.
In his fourth at-bat, he didn’t strike out, yet visually it was somehow worse — he popped up high to the catcher, who caught the foul ball just feet from Gorman, who had begun walking back to the dugout.
![The St. Louis Cardinals face the Cincinnati Reds](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=150%2C101 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=200%2C135 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=225%2C152 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=300%2C202 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=400%2C270 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=540%2C364 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=640%2C431 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=750%2C505 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=990%2C667 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C697 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C809 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C898 1333w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C995 1476w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/19/8191d2db-4cdd-5402-9de0-d1c011d96422/6681cd3395135.image.jpg?resize=1754%2C1182 2008w)
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman looks up at a pop foul that was then caught by Cincinnati Reds catcher Luke Maile in the eighth inning during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Sunday, June 30, 2024.
Look, I want to believe there’s still some production in there. Even with a bad June and a pretty bad year (.187 batting average, .665 OPS, 109 strikeouts), Gorman still has 16 homers. That’s the sixth-highest home run total in the National League. But again, bunches — only five of his home runs haven’t been within two games of another home run hit.
And this year, he’s striking out at an unacceptable rate. He has K'd 36.5% of the time. Only one player in baseball — Cincinnati’s Will Benson at 39.6% — has a higher percentage.
But the Reds weren’t counting on Will Benson to be a pivotal player in a playoff push for 2024.
And while Gorman has improved defensively at second base, he’s still just OK. In fact, he’s at minus-4 defensive runs saved on the season, per Sports Info Solutions.
But as the Cards get healthier in the outfield — with the anticipated returns of Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman — that should mean more Brendan Donovan at second instead of left … and thus Gorman as the designated hitter.
Oh, and if you want to talk splits — against lefties, he’s got a .400 career slugging percentage and a .708 career OPS. This year? A .346 slugging against southpaws and a .590 OPS. Then again, it’s not like Gorman is "pre-September-2016 Brandon Moss" against righties.
For sure, there are many low-batting average, high-strikeout rate guys who thrive in the majors because they hit homers. Kyle Schwarber is perhaps the most famous of them all in the National League. It comes down to how many strikeouts can a team tolerate.
And for Nolan Gorman in June, there were just too many.
At least it’s now a new month.
![The St. Louis Cardinals face the Pittsburgh Pirates](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=150%2C96 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=200%2C127 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=225%2C143 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=300%2C191 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=400%2C255 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=540%2C344 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=640%2C408 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=750%2C478 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=990%2C631 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C659 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C764 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C849 1333w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C940 1476w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0d/60d21c49-dde9-523c-a3d6-69bd11b7ebd1/666a61065988b.image.jpg?resize=1804%2C1149 2008w)
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (16) misses a throw from catcher Iván Herrera (48) which allowed Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Michael A. Taylor (18) to run to third in the fifth inning during a game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.
St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, who leads Major League Baseball in saves, has utilized his curveball in recent appearances, en route to 30 saves on the season.
Orlando Cepeda, who passed away this weekend, has the rare distinction of winning the MVP the same year his team — the 1967 Cardinals — won the World Series.
Willson Contreras returned to the St. Louis Cardinals lineup on Monday and received a loud ovation from the Busch Stadium fans.