WVU's JJ Wetherholt Goes Viral for "Little League Grand Slam"

The St. Louis Cardinals currently sit in second place in the National League Central division with a 23-15 overall record about a month into the season. However, not many expected the Cardinals to be this strong this early in the season.

St. Louis is a team in a bit of a rebuilding year with lots of young talent. But former WVU star JJ Wetherholt has St. Louis believing in the Cardinals more and more after his rare at-bat.

The Cardinals led the San Diego Padres 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning. The bases were loaded, and the former Mountaineer stepped up to the plate. Wetherholt made solid contact with a ball that flew by San Diego’s second baseman and rolled into the outfield. It looked like the rookie was going to extend the Cardinals' lead with an RBI single, but it ended up being much more than that. The ball continued to roll fast under the glove of outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr., and there was nothing left to stop the ball from rolling all the way to the wall.

Wetherholt sped all the way around the bases for a rare "little league grand slam” that propelled the Cardinals to a 6-0 win on Friday night.

Wetherholt joked after the game that he was never trying to hit the ball where he did in the first place.

“I was really trying to hit the ball to left because I was really early on that guy,” Wetherholt said. “So that's not exactly what I wanted, but found a hole.”

Wetherholt also joked that running all the way around the bases quite the workout for him.

"I was kind of just going around the bag and see where the throw went, and as soon as I saw it go under his glove, I just started running, and I saw [third-base coach Ron Warner] waving me. It's like the most I've ran in probably four years. It was fun, though.”

In a loaded MLB rookie class, Wetherholt is proving to be one of the best

Wetherholt currently has the third-best odds to win National League Rookie of the Year, behind the Cincinnati Reds Sal Stewart, and the New York Mets Nolan McLean. The second baseman has a .234 batting average, seven home runs, and 20 RBIs so far this season. Wetherholt has been a solid defensive glove for the Cardinals and continues to show up in big moments. Wetherholt would become the first Mountaineer to win an MLB Rookie of the Year honor. With lots of baseball left to play, Wetherholt is already proving that he belongs in the big leagues.

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