
There are some people that are simply hard not to love.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is one of those people. To paint a better picture, Nootbaar is a major league slugger that seems to have the personality of a golden retriever. Anytime Nootbaar is shown on camera during a game, he can be seen smiling or laughing with his teammates. While making plays he seems to always have his tongue sticking out, very reminiscent of Michael Jordan or, ya know, a golden retriever.
NOOT #StlCards pic.twitter.com/DZhSToWlNe
— Dylan Holt (@DylanHolt_) August 6, 2022
Last summer, Nootbaar stole the hearts of baseball fans in St. Louis.
At Busch Stadium, Nootbaar is known simply as Noot. Chants of “Nooooot” seemed to be a nightly occurrence last summer as Cardinal fans fell in love with the rookie outfielder’s electric style of play.
NOOOOOT! Lars Nootbaar walks it off for the Cardinals!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 4, 2022
(via @BallySportsMW)pic.twitter.com/zkgzpXzy5H
Now, Noot has taken his play to the international stage. He is suiting up for Samurai Japan as a part of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Samurai Noot
When you hear the name “Lars Nootbaar” you probably don’t think Japanese baseball player.
To be fair, Noot wasn’t born in Japan. He is a native of El Segundo, California, but his mother, Kumi Enokida, is Japanese and still holds citizenship.
Because Noot’s mother is a Japanese citizen, he was eligible to play for Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Noot had dreamed of representing Japan for a long time, but there was one huge problem; Samurai Japan had never selected a player born outside of Japan.
Lars Nootbaar was born to an American, Dutch, English, and German father and Japanese mother.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 3, 2023
It had always been his dream to represent his mother's Japanese heritage.
He has made Samurai Japan's WBC team as one of just three hafu — or half-Japanese — players on Japan's roster. pic.twitter.com/msIHGWmf8Y
That changed, though. Samurai Japan welcomed Noot to their roster and made history in doing so. It was an accomplishment that no doubt means so much to both Noot and his mother.
“I think there’s a sense of pride being able to represent Team Japan and where she grew up,” he said. “It’s a pretty cool moment because she sacrificed so much for me.
“I can’t wait, it’s a dream come true for me.”
Living His Best Life
Since arriving in Japan to join the team, there have been countless videos and pictures shared of Noot enjoying this experience that he has dreamed of.
One of the problems with Noot not being a Japanese citizen is that he doesn’t speak Japanese. Luckily fellow MLB stars Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish are in the clubhouse and can translate. Noot is also being helped out by his mother, who is doing her best to teach her son her native language.
Lars Nootbaar practicing his Japanese with his mother before the WBC. pic.twitter.com/I7gvfv0aA1
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) March 4, 2023
But, the language barrier has also provided some amazing content:
Nootbaar after the team huddle: “What did they say?”
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) March 3, 2023
His interpreter: “I couldn’t hear shit”
Posted on Samurai Japan’s official account lolpic.twitter.com/KhW8D4KXNI
As mentioned before, as a part of Samurai Japan, Noot is now a teammate of Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, of course, is arguably the best baseball player alive. Like Noot, Ohtani is one of those guys it is just simply hard not to like. It seemingly has not taken long for Noot and Ohtani to grow close and become friends.
Lars Nootbaar+ Shohei Ohtani friendship thread:
— Cards Fan | Contreras SZN | Cards Uni Enthusiast (@STLfan006457) March 6, 2023
🥹😌 pic.twitter.com/WCCCbtLl78
After hitting a home run, Ohtani can be seen rounding the bases and embracing Noot’s signature celebration: the pepper grinder.
Ohtani goes full pepper grinder. #Noot #TeamJapan #WBC pic.twitter.com/4n32y7ZelF
— Jim Hayes (@TheCatOnBallyTV) March 6, 2023
I already can’t get enough of Noot and Ohtani’s friendship, and they still have a ton of baseball to play together. Selfishly, as a Cardinals fan, I would love to see these two teaming together in St. Louis for the next decade as well as tearing it up for Samurai Japan.
What’s Next?
The World Baseball Classic officially starts with the group stage on Wednesday, March 8th. The classic will go on until Tuesday, March 21st when the championship game will be played in Miami.
Noot and Samurai Japan are part of Pool B, and their games will be played at home in Tokoyo, Japan. Their pool consists of Australia, China, Korea, and the Czech Republic.
Samurai Japan’s first game will be against China on Thursday.


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