Redbirds of a feather: Best friends Matthew Liberatore and Nolan Gorman's journey reaches Busch Stadium

During the Cardinals Caravan event in the Osage Centre on Monday, former SEMO Redhawk and Cardinal Kerry Robinson pointed out the unique relationship and journey of pitcher Matthew Liberatore and Nolan Gorman.

From their early beginnings through their high school rivalry and the minor league journey to St. Louis, these rookies are as closely connected as the two redbirds standing on the bat embedded on their jersey.

Growing up in Arizona, Liberatore and Gorman were teammates throughout their youth, from little league to travel ball. It wasn’t until they went to rival high schools when played against each other rather than with.

“Those were some of my favorite at-bats that I ever had,” Liberatore said. Especially for that time, I think I can speak for both of us, the most competitive at-bats of our years at that point.”

“I think he won most of the time,” Gorman said. “I got unlucky with some diving plays from his outfielders.”

Their high school careers ended in the 6A state championship game, played in the Spring Training home of the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe, Ariz. Liberatore’s performance in the semifinal sent Mountain Ridge to the title game, but it was Gorman and Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor who hoisted the trophy.

Gorman and Liberatore were both drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school. The Tampa Bay Rays with the 16th pick took Liberatore while the Cardinals selected Gorman with the 19th pick.

“We didn’t even have enough time to get a phone call in before both of our names were called,” Liberatore said. “I think in the amount of time it took for the whole room to quiet down for me, Nolan’s name was being called at that moment.”

Gorman was not just Liberatore’s best friend but also his best reference. While in a camp in Jupiter, Fla., Gorman was approached about his thoughts on Liberatore. After doing what any friend would do, it was shortly reported that the Cardinals kicked off 2020 by acquiring Liberatore from the Rays.

Later that day, I got a call from [Liberatore] telling me that he was coming over,” Gorman said. “I had to confirm with Twitter that he was coming up here. I was super excited. I told everybody that I was with at the moment.”

2020 was marred by the coronavirus pandemic and temporary structure where a handful of prospects were in a developmental camp in Springfield waiting for their chance to be called up should the need ever come. Due to the nature of the pandemic, Gorman and Liberatore were bound together in a hotel room with minimal opportunities to leave except for training.

Even though they were already close, it was there they bonded even closer.

“We spent pretty much every waking second of those two months together and it was awesome,” Liberatore said. “We bounced ideas off each other, we talked baseball, we talked family, we talked about really anything. We just kept each other entertained and give someone to hang out with.”

Gorman said there were some conversations that they had in 2020 that have an impact on what they do today.

“We’re always talking about baseball and learning from each other and trying to make each other better,” Gorman said.

Gorman made his big league debut on May 20, 2022, 10 days after his 22nd birthday. Liberatore was called up the next day. They were in Gwinnett, Ga., for a Triple-A game when they both learned the monumental news.

“They told me about it three days prior and asked me to keep quiet,” Liberatore said.

“He knew that he was going up but didn’t know that I was going up,” Gorman said.

Gorman went straight from batting practice to the first flight to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates.

“That whole day from the morning I woke up, there were no nerves in the beginning,” Gorman said. “About 15 minutes before I get on the bus, I was up in my hotel room and that’s when the nerves started to kick in, on the 20th floor of a super nice hotel. ‘Oh my God, this is really happening.’ Once I got on the bus and as soon as I got to the field, everything settled down.”

Gorman hit 14 home runs for the Cardinals in 89 games and Liberatore logged seven starts in nine outings. The duo will likely have a big role to fill for the 2023 Cardinals.