(Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
Lars Nootbaar has quickly turned himself into a favorite among St. Louis Cardinals fans.
The young outfielder has also become a global sensation.
The famous “grind the pepper” celebration made its way to Japan during the World Baseball Classic.
The 25-year-old was a part of Team Japan this spring, and Japan defeated Team USA to claim the ultimate prize.
Since the start of the Classic, fans have been monitoring Nootbaar’s follower count on Instagram and waiting to see if he would ultimately pass the Cardinals in that category.
On Thursday, the dream became a reality.
On Twitter, a fan posted a side-by-side comparison of two photos, with one featuring Nootbaar’s follower count and the other featuring that of the Cardinals.
He finally did it.
Lars Nootbaar has more Instagram followers than the Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/g68nsgZbd0
— Quinn (@QuinnSTLCards) April 6, 2023
It would seem that Nootbaar’s popularity is only growing stronger.
His fun-loving energy has helped generate the excitement around the young outfielder.
His excellent defense, speed around the bases, and his offense are also key factors.
But the count began when he joined Team Japan and started getting fans on board with his celebration and his infectious enthusiasm.
Soon enough, fans from all over the world fell in love with him, and since the end of the WBC, that has not changed.
But now, it’s official.
Nootbaar has more followers than his own team and has become one of, if not the most interesting player in all of baseball and around the entire world.
We’ll see how high the follower count gets.
The post Lars Nootbaar Is Only Getting More Popular appeared first on The Cold Wire.