Rockies' Nolan Arenado Already A Fan Favorite After 8 Days In The Majors

DENVER (CBS4) - At just 22 years old, Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is the second youngest player in the program. With the team having a day off before the big series against the New York Yankees, Arenado was able to be the guest on Xfinity Monday Live!

Arenado was called up to the majors last week after the Rockies traded third baseman Chris Nelson to the Yankees. On Sunday, he hit his first grand slam off of the Tampa Bay Rays' David Price.

"I think it was a hanging slider, he just left it over the plate. He is an unbelievable pitcher, obviously a Cy Young (winner). He obviously wishes he could take that pitch back, but he just hung it and I put a good swing on it," Arenado said.

Arenado said it made it even more enjoyable because the Rockies won the game.

"Winning is the most important thing," he said.

Arenado said some of his teammates were hoping he'd get a curtain call from the fans.

"I was just so happy I hit it out. I just was more excited about the home run than anything else," he said. "I wasn't really worried about anything else."

Rewinding to last Sunday when Arenado got the call up, he said it was extra special because he happened to be with his family at the time.

"It was awesome. The funny thing in pro ball is I have never really gotten moved up, or a call to move up, so it was pretty cool to hear that," he said. "It was exciting. I was with my parents, which was nice, we were at dinner."

He said his adventure from Tucson to Phoenix was strange. The Rockies sent a driver to get him and the driver didn't exactly make a quick trip up north.

"I guess he was falling asleep. He said he was really tired … it was pretty scary. Good thing my dad was there and my parents, they had their own car. So we just told him, 'Hey, you know, (I'm) going to go with my dad, so you can go home and rest.' "

Arenado's second series in the majors was a trip to Los Angeles. He was born and raised in Southern California, but said playing in front of his friends and family doesn't add more pressure.

"My family and my friends, they all support me. That's the number one thing; it's all support. They care about me and I love them and I've been blessed to have a good family, and that's how I look at it."

In just 8 games in the majors Arenado's has a .323 average and .677 slugging percentage. The Rockies hope that success continues.

- By Matthew J. Buettner, CBSDenver.com

Watch more of the video with Nolan Arenado in the Xfinity Monday Live! section.