Lars Nootbaar
Lars Taylor-Tatsuji Nootbaar (, Enokida Tatsuji, born September 8, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). On the international level, he represents the Japan national baseball team. Born and raised in El Segundo, California, Nootbaar played three seasons of college baseball at the University of Southern California. The Cardinals selected him in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB draft, and he was in their minor league system for four seasons before making his MLB debut in 2021. Early life and amateur career Nootbaar was born to an American father of European descent, Charlie Nootbaar, and a Japanese mother, Kumiko Enokida. Nootbaar grew up in El Segundo, California. He later attended El Segundo High School, where he played baseball and football. He was a three-time league MVP in baseball and twice in football as the Eagles' starting quarterback. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern California (USC) and was recruited to play college football by UC Davis and Fordham. Nootbaar was a three-year starter for the USC Trojans, where his older brother Nigel had played. He was named All-Pac-12 Conference as a sophomore after hitting .313