After his first full season with the St. Louis Cardinals, center fielder Victor Scott II fulfilled a lifelong dream by buying his mom a brand-new car. “That was a very, very special moment for me,” Scott said about the gesture during his availability at Winter Warm-Up. “That was something I always told her that I would do for her once I got to the big leagues and played a full year. I told her that ‘Mom, I’m going to get you a car.’ I was like 14 years old, and I remember saying it every day.”
Last season, Scott was a finalist for the National League Gold Glove in center field, ultimately losing to Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, but Scott wants to elevate his offense this year. “I know I had two calling cards, the defense and the speed aspect, but I’m not complete without my offense,” Scott said about how he wants to improve his game.
The Cardinal center fielder went back to his Alma Mater, West Virginia, for motion capture and force plate testing, which revealed that some of his movements were inefficient in using the force he was generating. While there, he realized that he pulling his upper half and was hitting ground balls to second. To fix this, he was able to build a plan and make adjustments with the biomechanist at West Virginia, working with movement prep and taking things slow, but he likes the results thus far, and with the new season approaching, he’s preparing to take the next step in his career.
Scott electrified in spring training last season, but tapered off during the season at the plate. With a newfound approach and process to the offensive half of his game this winter, he is looking to repeat his spring training performance from last season and carry it over into the regular season.
When asked about his goals on the basepaths, Scott said he wanted to double his total from last year, aiming for 70 stolen bases in the upcoming season.
While the Cardinals take a step back to focus on their youth, Scott will be one of the biggest names to watch. Getting nods from both manager Oliver Marmol and President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom, as a player that they are excited to see him take a leap forward in the upcoming season.
Watch Scott's Winter Warm-Up interview on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel.