28 Facts About Aaron Nola

1.

Aaron Nola was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and played baseball alongside his older brother Austin.

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2.

Aaron Nola played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

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3.

Aaron Nola returned in 2017 to beat Curt Schilling's 1996 record for most strikeouts by a Phillies pitcher with fewer than 30 starts in one season.

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4.

Aaron Nola has started every Opening Day game for the Phillies since 2018, and is considered the team's ace.

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5.

Aaron Nola's father served as his Little League Baseball coach until high school, when he began playing for Catholic High School in Baton Rouge.

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6.

Aaron Nola spent three seasons on the varsity team, including two state playoff appearances.

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7.

Aaron Nola missed one month of his junior season with a hernia, but returned in the playoffs to pitch Catholic to the state finals.

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8.

Aaron Nola elected not to sign with the Blue Jays, and instead attended Louisiana State University, where his brother was a senior.

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9.

Aaron Nola majored in Sports Management at LSU, and was roommates with Alex Bregman.

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10.

Aaron Nola quickly rebounded, and posted five shutout innings, a recovery that struck LSU pitching coach Alan Dunn, who said that the turnaround "gave us a glimpse of how good Aaron could be".

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11.

On May 3 against Florida, Aaron Nola became the first LSU pitcher to record four consecutive complete game victories since Mike Sirotka in 1993, and the first two record two shutouts in one season since Greg Smith in 2005.

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12.

Aaron Nola was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Baseball America, and Collegiate Baseball All-American teams, and was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year.

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13.

Aaron Nola won the SEC Player of the Year Award, and was the recipient of the 2014 National Pitcher of the Year award.

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14.

Aaron Nola was selected for the 2015 MLB All-Star Futures Game, but did not pitch.

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15.

Aaron Nola wore No 27 for the Phillies, as his college jersey number 10 was used by coach Larry Bowa.

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16.

Aaron Nola threw his first major league strikeout to Steven Souza Jr.

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17.

Two weeks later, general manager Matt Klentak announced that Aaron Nola had been diagnosed with "low-grade" sprains and strains in his elbow, and that he would not pitch again for the remainder of the season.

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18.

Aaron Nola made a strong return to the mound, allowing two runs or fewer in 18 of his 27-season starts.

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19.

Aaron Nola was chosen as the Phillies' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2018.

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20.

Aaron Nola came in third in voting for the 2018 National League Cy Young Award, behind Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets and Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals.

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21.

Aaron Nola arrived late to the Phillies' 2020 spring training after quarantining due to exposure to COVID-19.

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22.

Aaron Nola pitched his first two complete games with the Phillies in 2020, both of which were only seven innings due to a rule that shortened doubleheaders.

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23.

Aaron Nola was selected to pitching Opening Day for the fourth year in a row in 2021, the longest streak by a Phillies pitcher since Steve Carlton opened ten seasons in a row between 1977 and 1986.

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24.

Early in his career, Aaron Nola was labeled the Phillies' ace, with his pitching record drawing favorable comparisons to former club standouts Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt.

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25.

Aaron Nola has largely maintained the same four-pitch lineup since entering the majors in 2015, throwing a four-seam fastball, a curveball, a changeup, and a sinker.

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26.

Former manager Joe Girardi and Aaron Nola are aware of Aaron Nola's late-season struggles, but are unsure of why they occur.

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27.

Aaron Nola is of Italian descent on his father's side; his great-grandparents emigrated to Baton Rouge from Sicily.

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28.

Aaron Nola was exposed to COVID-19 in 2021, missing a start as a result.

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