Paul Goldschmidt
- In full:
- Paul Edward Goldschmidt
- Byname:
- Goldy
- Born:
- September 10, 1987, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. (age 37)
Which notable award did Paul Goldschmidt win in 2022?
Where did Paul Goldschmidt grow up and play high school baseball?
Which team drafted Paul Goldschmidt in the 2009 MLB draft?
Paul Goldschmidt (born September 10, 1987, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.) is an American slugging first baseman who rose from being a relatively unknown professional baseball prospect to being named, at age 35, the 2022 Most Valuable Player of Major League Baseball’s (MLB’s) National League (NL). At 6 feet 2 inches (1.9 meters) tall and 225 pounds (102 kg), he is also a remarkably agile defender and base runner.
Early life and college
Goldschmidt is the eldest of three boys of Kim and David Goldschmidt. He was born in Wilmington, Delaware, but his father’s flooring business took the family to Texas, where they settled in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands. Goldschmidt played football and baseball during middle school; by the time he reached The Woodlands High School, he was focused on baseball. In 2006 he won a state championship as a senior at The Woodlands, and after graduation the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the 49th (second to last) round. He did not sign a contract with the team, however, electing to play college ball at Texas State University.
After a quiet start as a freshman, when he missed playing time while recovering from a broken bone in his hand, Goldschmidt established himself as a formidable hitter. In his final year at Texas State, as a junior, he hit .352 with 18 home runs and 88 RBIs in 57 games. The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him in the eighth round of the 2009 draft, and he signed with the team on June 14. At the time he was 10 classes short of completing a degree, with a 3.8 grade point average. Three years later Goldschmidt enrolled in the University of Phoenix, taking online courses and earning a degree in business management in 2013.
Pro career
Arizona Diamondbacks
Goldschmidt had three excellent minor-league seasons and was named the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year in 2011. On August 1 of that year, the Diamondbacks called him up, and the 23-year-old singled in his first career at-bat. Arizona qualified for the playoffs and made it to the National League Division Series. Goldschmidt had a solo home run in the second game, and in the fifth inning of game three he hit a grand slam, the first in Diamondbacks postseason history. The team eventually lost the series to the Milwaukee Brewers, 3–2. After hitting .250 with a .474 slugging percentage and 8 homers during his rookie season, Goldschmidt improved to .286 with a .490 slugging percentage and 20 homers the next year.
Goldschmidt is known for his preparation, meticulous attention to detail, and self-effacing personality. He has won consistent praise from coaches and fellow players throughout his career. His Cardinals teammate Nolan Arenado told The Athletic in 2022 that Goldschmidt is “the smartest player I’ve ever seen.”
Before the 2013 season the Diamondbacks signed Goldschmidt to a five-year, $32 million contract, and he responded with a breakout year, hitting .302 and leading the NL with 36 homers, 125 RBIs, a .551 slugging percentage, and a .952 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He finished second in the NL MVP vote to Andrew McCutchen and won his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, along with his first berth to the All-Star Game. After being limited by a hand injury in 2014, Goldschmidt again finished second in MVP voting in 2015, this time to Bryce Harper, after hitting .321 with 33 homers and 110 RBIs. Goldschmidt’s elite stats were not limited to hitting. In 2016 he stole 32 bases (in 37 attempts), finishing ninth in the league—a strikingly high number for a tall, slugging first baseman.
St. Louis Cardinals
After the 2018 season, Arizona traded Goldschmidt, who had one year left before free agency, to the St. Louis Cardinals. On the eve of the 2019 season, St. Louis signed him to a contract extension for five years and $130 million, and barely a week later he hit three homers in just his second game as a Cardinal, a 9–5 victory over the Brewers. After that he had a few so-so months (by his standards) before catching fire in late July, when he homered in six consecutive games. His play helped St. Louis win the NL Central Division title that season, its first since 2015.
After several productive seasons Goldschmidt had a career year in 2022 and was named NL MVP, getting 22 of 30 first-place votes. That season he led the NL with a .578 slugging percentage and a .981 OPS. He was 35 years old—an age when most players are on the decline—making him the fourth oldest first-time winner of a major league MVP award in the divisional era. Goldschmidt also flirted with winning the NL triple crown (leading in batting average, homers, and RBIs), which would have made him the first to have accomplished the feat since Joe Medwick in 1937 (in the end Goldschmidt finished third in batting average, fifth in homers, and second in RBIs). Goldschmidt’s performance helped lead the Cardinals to another division title, although they were swept in the Wild Card Series. In his last two seasons in St. Louis his offensive production declined, and the Cardinals finished out of playoff contention.
In December 2024 Goldschmidt signed a one-year, $12.5 million contract with the New York Yankees.
Personal life
Paul and Amy Goldschmidt met as freshmen at Texas State and were married in 2010. The couple has two children.