Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt
Goldschmidt with the Diamondbacks, 2017.
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 44
First baseman
Born: (1987-09-10) September 10, 1987
Wilmington, Delaware
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 1, 2011, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Batting average .297
Home runs 209
Runs batted in 710
Stolen bases 124
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
World Baseball Classic
2017 Los Angeles Team

Paul Edward Goldschmidt (born September 10, 1987), nicknamed "Goldy", is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2011.

Goldschmidt is a six-time MLB All-Star. He has won the National League (NL) Hank Aaron Award, Gold Glove Award, and Silver Slugger Award. He has also twice finished runner-up for the NL Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP, in 2013 and 2015).

Early life

Paul Goldschmidt was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and grew up in The Woodlands, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He attended The Woodlands High School and attended Texas State University to play college baseball for the Texas State Bobcats baseball team. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2006 Draft but did not sign.[1] He was twice named the Southland Conference hitter of the year (2008 and 2009), once named Southland player of the year (2009)[2] and was a third-team All-American as a junior in 2009 after hitting .352 with 18 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBIs) in 57 games played.[3] Goldschmidt set records for home runs (36), doubles (45), walks (110) and RBI (369) during his three-year career at Texas State.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Goldschmidt in the eighth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.[4] In 2009, he excelled in Rookie League for the Missoula Osprey, hitting .334 and 18 home runs along with 62 RBI in his first half-season of professional baseball.

He continued his success the following year in the California League, where he was selected as an all-star as well as the league's Most Valuable Player. He was also named the Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League Player of the Year.[5] In 2011, he was again named the Diamondbacks' player of the year, a Baseball America first-team Minor League All-Star, Double-A all-star first baseman, Southern League all-star first baseman, and Southern League Most Valuable Player.[6]

Overall, Goldschmidt hit .317 with a .407 on-base percentage and 83 home runs in two and a half minor league seasons.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Goldschmidt takes batting practice on Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, 2016.
Goldschmidt in 2015

Goldschmidt was called up to the majors on August 1, 2011, becoming the first Texas State position player to play in the major leagues.[7] At the time of his call-up, he was leading the minors with 30 home runs. Goldschmidt tallied a base hit in his first at-bat on August 1, and hit his first home run the next day off San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. In his rookie season, Goldschmidt batted .250 with 8 home runs and 26 RBI in 48 games.

In Game 3 of the NLDS playoffs against the Brewers, Goldschmidt hit a grand slam home run to extend the team's lead in its first victory of the series. His homer was the third grand slam by a rookie in MLB postseason history.[8] The Diamondbacks lost the series in five games, and Goldschmidt batted .438 with 6 RBI and an OBP of .526.

In 2012, Goldschmidt played 145 games and batted .286 with 20 home runs, 82 runs, 82 RBIs, 43 doubles, and 18 stolen bases. Goldschmidt hit his first career regular-season grand slam on June 1 off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Mármol at Wrigley Field. Four days later, Goldschmidt hit another grand slam off St. Louis Cardinals reliever Maikel Cleto. Goldschmidt hit a third grand slam on August 20, 2013 against pitcher J. J. Hoover of the Cincinnati Reds.

During the 2013 MLB season, Goldschmidt was selected to the National League all-star team. Goldschmidt collected one of only three hits for the National League team, and the only extra-base hit, when he doubled with two outs in the ninth inning. On August 13, he hit a game-tying home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. Goldschmidt then hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eleventh, becoming the first Diamondbacks player to record game-tying and walk-off home runs in the same game. In 160 games that season, he attained a .302 batting average, 36 home runs, and 125 RBI. Goldschmidt finished second in the NL MVP voting, behind Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. He led MLB with four walk-off hits in 2013.[9]

In 2014, Goldschmidt batted .300 with 19 home runs, 75 runs, and 69 RBIs. His season came to an end on August 1st when Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ernesto Frieri hit him in his hand with a pitch. His hand was broken as a result, and he spent the rest of the year on the disabled list. Goldschmidt was the starting first baseman for the NL in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game.

On June 10, 2015, Goldschmidt hit his 100th career home run against Brett Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the time of his 100th home run, Goldschmidt was sixth on the Diamondbacks' all-time home run list.[10] Later that year, Goldschmidt was again the starting first baseman for the NL in the All-Star Game. Goldschmidt attained a .321 batting average with 33 home runs and 110 RBI in 2015. He won his second Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award.[11] For the second time in three seasons, Goldschmidt was voted the runner-up for the NL MVP award, this time finishing behind Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper.

In 2016, Goldschmidt batted .297 with 24 home runs, 106 runs, and 95 RBIs in 579 at-bats. Goldschmidt was again named to the NL All-Star Team, to play in San Diego where he went 0 for 3, recording a fielder's choice in the ninth inning.

On August 3, 2017, Goldschmidt hit three home runs in a game for the first time, bolstering the Diamondbacks' 10–8 win over the Chicago Cubs.[12] For the 5th time in his career, Goldschmidt would be named to the NL All-Star Team. On September 13, 2017, in a game against the Colorado Rockies, Goldschmidt would record his 1000th career hit. Goldschmidt would finish the 2017 season batting .297 with 36 home runs, 117 runs, and 120 RBI. After the season, Goldschmidt would be awarded his third Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award. He also finished 3rd in NL MVP Voting.

In the 2017 National League Wild Card Game, Goldschmidt would hit a 3-run home run in the 1st inning that would help the Diamondbacks to win 11-8 over the Rockies. During the NLDS, Goldschmidt would underperform, batting only .091. The Diamondbacks would go on to lose the series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Through the first 20 games in May of the 2018 season, Goldschmidt would struggle, managing to get only 7 hits out of 73 at-bats. At the time, this would sink his batting average for the season to just .198. Goldschmidt would dramatically improve into the following month however, as he would have a .390 batting average between the dates of June 1 and July 3. For the month of June, he would be named the National League Player of the Month for the first time in his career. His efforts would be enough for him to earn a spot on the NL All-Star Team for a 6th consecutive year. On August 3, 2018, Goldschmidt would hit his 200th career home run against Chris Stratton of the San Francisco Giants. Goldschmidt is now second on the Diamondback's all-time home run list. Goldschmidt would finish the 2018 season batting .290 with 33 home runs, 95 runs, and 83 RBI.

Personal life

Goldschmidt met his future wife, Amy, during his freshman year at Texas State; the couple married in October 2010.[13] The couple's first child, a son, was born in September 2015.[14][15] Goldschmidt became an evangelical Christian as an adult; he has Jewish as well as European ancestry.[16][17]

In September 2013, Goldschmidt graduated from University of Phoenix with a Bachelor of Science degree in management.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Southland Conference Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Southland.org. Spring 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rising Star – Paul Goldschmidt". TxState.edu. Spring 2009. Archived from the original on March 27, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Amateur Baseball Draft - The Baseball Cube". www.thebaseballcube.com.
  5. ↑ Smith, Daren (August 27, 2010). "Goldschmidt named MVP, top rookie". Minorleaguebaseball.com. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  6. ↑ J.J. Cooper and Matt Eddy (September 16, 2011). "2011 Minor League All-Star Team". Baseball America. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  7. ↑ "D-backs call up slugging prospect Goldschmidt". Mlb.mlb.com. February 26, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  8. ↑ Mark Townsend (October 5, 2011). "Former teammates in minors cheer Goldschmidt after slam". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Team Batting Event Finder: 2013, All Teams, Hits, Walk-off". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Puig has big night, Kendrick lifts Dodgers over D-backs 7-6". ESPN. Associated Press. June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  11. ↑ Miller, Doug (November 10, 2015). "Defensive standouts nab Gold Glove Awards". MLB.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  12. ↑ Associated Press (4 August 2017). "Paul Goldschmidt has first 3-homer game in D-backs' win over Cubs". ESPN. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  13. ↑ "– USATODAY.com". USATODAY.COM. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt returns from paternity leave". azcentral.com. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  15. ↑ "New father Paul Goldschmidt returns to D-backs". Major League Baseball.
  16. ↑ Snyder, Ken (June 10, 2016). "Gold Mine: Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt finds Jesus through love of others". sportsspectrum.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  17. ↑ Vacek, Rick (June 10, 2016). "'Tales from Dugout' shows strength in vulnerability". Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Goldschmidt graduates from University of Phoenix". Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
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