Thunderous applause and roaring cheers followed Arenado throughout the day: When he first took the field on the back of a Ford-150 truck — a home opener tradition — and circled the field, when he was introduced before his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning and during each of his at-bats that followed.

Nolan Arenado's eighth-inning homer Thursday had plenty of extra meaning after he spent much of the offseason on the trading block, and Cardinals fans knew it, bringing him out for a curtain call.

It was a difficult offseason for St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado, who sat through a myriad of trade rumors. The Cardinals finished second in the NL Central at 83-79, but did not make the postseason cut.