Nolan Gorman’s stats vs. Chris Bassitt are almost too crazy to believe—but they’re real and they’re spectacular

ST. LOUIS — If Nolan Gorman could face Chris Bassitt every game, he would be on a fast track to the Hall of Fame.

Gorman entered Tuesday’s St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium with a lifetime mark of 2-for-2 against Bassitt, with both of those hits leaving the yard.

You heard that right—Gorman came into this matchup having faced Bassitt twice, while homering against him in both at-bats.

The grand event came on April 2, 2023 at Busch Stadium. It marked, at the time, the second multi-home run game of Gorman’s MLB career (he’s now up to eight multi-homer affairs).

For a little more than two years, Gorman has been floating through time and space, waiting for the day that his star would collide with Bassitt’s once again.

So when the Cardinals second baseman rolled into Busch Stadium on Tuesday afternoon to find his name in the lineup against this particular Toronto Blue Jays starter, Gorman had to know it was about to be a good day for his 2025 statistics.

Sure enough, Gorman’s matchup with Bassitt on Tuesday unfolded in a familiar manner, with the Cardinal slugger driving a three-run, game-tying home run in the fourth inning against the right-handed pitcher who must be, at this point, his all-time favorite opponent to face.

The home run actually came in Gorman’s second plate appearance against Bassitt on the night, and there’s a case to be made that Bassitt’s approach to the first one was far more effective. Gorman’s first time up, Bassitt walked him on four pitches, evidently remembering what had happened on the previous occasions in which he threw Gorman a strike. 

Eventually, Bassitt did retire Gorman for the first time in his big-league career when the latter popped out in the bottom of the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game, but I would still imagine this is a head-to-head matchup that Gorman wouldn’t mind seeing again some day.

Unfortunately, Gorman's efforts didn't contribute to a win as the Cardinals pitching staff Tuesday generally performed like it was Chris Bassitt facing Nolan Gorman on repeat. The Blue Jays erupted against Miles Mikolas and Co. in an 10-9 win over St. Louis on Tuesday. 

But for any NL Central teams considering making a run at Bassitt in free agency this winter, just keep in mind that this stat is a thing.