Paul Edward Goldschmidt (born September 10, 1987) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB). Lightly recruited out of The Woodlands High School in

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with p ...

, Goldschmidt played for the

Texas State Bobcats The Texas State Bobcats are the sports teams that represent Texas State University. Currently, they compete in the Sun Belt Conference in NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for football). The Bobcat has been the mascot of Texas State Univ ...

, and was selected by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in the eighth round of the 2009 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with them in 2011, and they traded him to the Cardinals during the 2018–19 offseason. Goldschmidt is a seven-time MLB All-Star. He led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

during the 2013 season. He has won the NL

Hank Aaron Award The Hank Aaron Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players selected as the top hitter in each league, as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It was introduced in 1999 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Ha ...

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

, and

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters ...

. Goldschmidt has twice finished runner-up for the NL

Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Write ...

, in 2013 and 2015, before finally winning the award in 2022.

Early life

Goldschmidt was born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

, on September 10, 1987. He grew up a

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

fan. His parents, David and Kim, met at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His mother is Catholic and his father is Jewish. Goldschmidt and his two younger brothers were raised Catholic. His Jewish great-grandparents Paul and Ilse Goldschmidt and his grandfather, Ernie (who now lives in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

), escaped

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1938 before

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

. Goldschmidt said he and his two brothers "know our Jewish history and we respect those beliefs. We had both sides of it as kids. My dad's side, my mom's side. We were exposed to all of it." The Goldschmidt family moved from Wilmington to

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, and then to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, because of the flooring company his family owns. He grew up in

, and attended The Woodlands High School and played for their baseball team. They won the state championship in 2006, with Goldschmidt playing as the team's

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

College career

He enrolled at Texas State University to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the Texas State Bobcats baseball team. He was named the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

hitter of the year in 2008 and 2009, Southland player of the year in 2009, and was a third-team All-American as a junior in 2009 after hitting .352 with 18

s and 88

(RBIs) in 57

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. Goldschmidt set Bobcat career records with 36 home runs and 179 RBIs.

Professional career

Drafts and minor leagues

The

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

selected Goldschmidt in the 49th round of the 2006 MLB draft. The Dodgers knew he was a long shot to sign with them, but selected him nonetheless. Goldschmidt played with the son of one of the Dodgers' scouts. The

selected Goldschmidt in the eighth round, with the 246th overall selection, of the 2009 MLB draft. He signed with the Diamondbacks, receiving a $95,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. The Diamondbacks assigned Goldschmidt to the Missoula Osprey of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he hit .334 and 18 home runs along with 62 RBIs in his first 74 professional games. The 18 home runs were a Missoula franchise record. The following year, playing for the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since thei ...

in the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major L ...

, he hit 35 home runs, the most for all Class A players, and one behind Mike Moustakas and

Mark Trumbo Mark Trumbo (born January 16, 1986) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2010 through 2013, for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2 ...

for the Joe Bauman Home Run Award. He was selected as an all-star and won the

California League Most Valuable Player Award The California League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in minor league baseball's California League. In 1941, John Jorgensen won the first ever California League MVP Award. After the cancellation of the ...

. He was also named the Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League Player of the Year. In 2011, Goldschmidt played for the Mobile Bay Bears of the Class AA Southern League. He had a .306 batting average, 30 home runs, and 94 RBIs in 103 games played through the end of July, leading all minor leaguers in home runs and RBIs, while his 82 walks was third-best. After the season, Goldschmidt was again named the Diamondbacks' player of the year, a ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' first-team Minor League All-Star, Class AA all-star first baseman, Southern League all-star first baseman, and the Southern League's Most Valuable Player.

Arizona Diamondbacks (2011–2018)

2011–2014

The Diamondbacks promoted Goldschmidt to the major leagues on August 1, 2011. The Diamondbacks intended to

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

Goldschmidt with Xavier Nady. Goldschmidt recorded a base hit in his first MLB at-bat on August 1, and hit his first MLB home run the next day off

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

pitcher Tim Lincecum. After Nady broke his wrist in mid-August, the Diamondbacks signed

Lyle Overbay Lyle Stefan Overbay (born January 28, 1977) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, New York Yan ...

to replace him. Goldschmidt credited Overbay for his mentorship. Goldschmidt struck out 20 times in his first 44 MLB

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. In his rookie season, Goldschmidt batted .250 with eight home runs and 26 RBI in 48 games. Paul Goldschmidt

The Diamondbacks made the postseason, and played against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in the

2011 National League Division Series The 2011 National League Division Series (abbreviated NLDS) were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 National League Championship ...

(NLDS). In Game 3, Goldschmidt hit a grand slam to extend the team's lead in its first victory of the series. His home run was the third grand slam by a rookie in MLB postseason history. The Diamondbacks lost the series in five games, and Goldschmidt batted .438 with six RBIs and an OBP of .526. Goldschmidt and Overbay made the Diamondbacks'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster in 2012. Goldschmidt hit his first career regular-season grand slam on June 1, 2012, off of

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

pitcher

Carlos Mármol Carlos Agustín Mármol (born October 14, 1982) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Miami Marlins. Carlos owns Recta 49, a succe ...

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

. Four days later, Goldschmidt hit another grand slam off St. Louis Cardinals reliever Maikel Cleto. Overbay played sparingly, and was designated for assignment at the end of July. In 2012, Goldschmidt played 145 games and batted .286 with 20 home runs, 82 runs, 82 RBIs, 43 doubles, and 18 stolen bases. Before the 2013 season, the Diamondbacks and Goldschmidt agreed to a $32 million contract covering the 2014 through 2018 seasons with a club option for the 2019 season worth $14.5 million. He would not have been eligible for salary arbitration until the 2014–15 offseason and

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

until the 2017–18 offseason. Goldschmidt was selected to the

's team in the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Goldschmidt doubled with two outs in the ninth inning, one of only three hits for the National League, and the only extra-base hit. On August 13, he hit a game-tying home run against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

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. Goldschmidt hit a third grand slam on August 20, 2013, against

J. J. Hoover James Alan Hoover Jr. (born August 13, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach for the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati ...

of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. In 160 games that season, he attained a .302 batting average, 36 home runs, and 125 RBI. Goldschmidt finished second in the voting for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award, behind

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

outfielder

Andrew McCutchen Andrew Stefan McCutchen (born October 10, 1986) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Philadel ...

. He led MLB with four walk-off hits in 2013. Goldschmidt was the starting first baseman for the National League in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game. In 2014, Goldschmidt batted .300 with 19 home runs, 75 runs, and 69 RBIs. While playing against the

on August 1, Goldschmidt was hit by a pitch from Ernesto Frieri and left the game. The resulting impact broke a bone in his left hand, which prematurely ended his season.

2015–2018

On June 10, 2015, Goldschmidt hit his 100th career home run against

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004-2 ...

of the

. At the time of his 100th home run, Goldschmidt was sixth on the Diamondbacks' all-time home run list. Later that year, Goldschmidt was again the starting first baseman for the National League in the All-Star Game. Goldschmidt attained a .321 batting average with 33 home runs and 110 RBIs, with a major-league leading 29 intentional walks, in 2015. He also was 2nd in the league in power-speed number (25.7). He won his second Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award. For the second time in three seasons, Goldschmidt was voted the runner-up for the National League Most Valuable Player Award, this time finishing behind

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

outfielder Bryce Harper. In 2016, Goldschmidt batted .297 with 24 home runs, 106 runs, and 95 RBIs in 579 at-bats. He also was third in the league in

power–speed number Power–speed number or power/speed number (PSN) is a sabermetrics baseball statistic developed by baseball author and analyst Bill James which combines a player's home run and stolen base numbers into one number.http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heism ...

(27.4). He was selected to appear in the 2016 MLB All-Star Game, where he went 0-for-3. On August 3, 2017, Goldschmidt hit three home runs in a game for the first time, bolstering the Diamondbacks' 10–8 win over the

. For the fifth time in his career, Goldschmidt was named to the National League's All-Star Team. On September 13, 2017, in a game against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

, Goldschmidt recorded his 1,000th career hit. Goldschmidt finished the 2017 season batting .297 with 36 home runs, 117 runs, and 120 RBIs. He tied for the National League lead in power-speed number (24.0). After the season, Goldschmidt was awarded his third Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award. He also finished third in voting for the National League Most Valuable Player Award. In the

2017 National League Wild Card Game The 2017 National League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 postseason that was played between the National League's (NL) two wild card teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. The gam ...

, Goldschmidt hit a three-run home run in the first inning that helped the Diamondbacks to win 11–8 over the Rockies. During the 2017 NLDS, Goldschmidt batted only .091. The Diamondbacks lost the series to the

. Through the first 20 games in May of the 2018 season, Goldschmidt struggled, managing to get only seven hits out of 73 at-bats (.096). At the time, this lowered his batting average for the season to just .198. Goldschmidt improved in the following month, recording a .390 batting average between the dates of June 1 and July 3. For the month of June, he won the National League Player of the Month Award for the first time in his career. His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Star Team for a sixth consecutive year. On August 3, 2018, Goldschmidt hit his 200th career home run against Chris Stratton of the

. Goldschmidt finished the 2018 season batting .290 with 33 home runs, 95 runs, and 83 RBIs. His 1,088 games played, 209 home runs, 710 RBIs, 1,179 hits, 708 runs scored, and 267 doubles are second in Diamondbacks' history, behind Luis Gonzalez. After the season, the Diamondbacks exercised the $14.5 million option on Goldschmidt's contract for the 2019 season.

St. Louis Cardinals (2019–present)

On December 5, 2018, the Diamondbacks traded Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andy Young, and a Competitive Balance Round B pick in the 2019 MLB draft.

2019

On March 23, 2019, Goldschmidt and the Cardinals agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $130 million, spanning the 2020–24 seasons. The deal became the largest in team history, eclipsing the seven-year, $120 million contract with

Matt Holliday Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and former left fielder who is the bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB from 2004 to 2018 for t ...

signed in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. In his second game with the Cardinals against the Milwaukee Brewers, he hit three home runs and became the first player in Major League history to hit three homers in either his first or second game with a new team. On April 20, 2019, in a game against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

Goldschmidt hit a 465-foot home run off Paul Sewald that would become both his longest career home run and the longest home run hit at Busch Stadium during the Statcast era. On June 21, 2019, in a game against the Los Angeles Angels, Goldschmidt hit a foul ball that ended up flying over the upper deck seating and out of the stadium, the first such occurrence in the current Busch Stadium. On July 26, 2019, in a game against the

, Goldschmidt reached a streak of six home runs in six consecutive games for the first time in his career, also tying the Cardinals franchise record previously set by Matt Carpenter and

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

. Goldschmidt finished his 2019 regular season, and his first season as a Cardinal, slashing .260/.346/.476 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs over 161 games. On defense, he had the best

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

of all major league first basemen (.996). Following the season, he was nominated for his first ever Gold Glove in a Cardinals uniform.

2020

In 2020, Goldschmidt appeared in 58 games batting .304/.417/.466 with six home runs and 21 RBIs in 231 at-bats. On October 28, 2020, he underwent surgery to have a bone spur removed out of his right elbow.

2021

On April 13, 2021, against the

, Goldschmidt hit his 250th career home run. Goldschmidt finished the 2021 season with 603

s over 158 games, slashing .294/.365/.514 with 31 home runs and 99 RBIs. He won the

at first base, being one of five Cardinals (a MLB record) to win the award.

2022

On May 23, 2022, Goldschmidt hit a

walk-off grand slam In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

in the bottom of the tenth inning versus the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

for a 7–3 win. That grand slam extended Goldschmidt's hitting streak to 15 games, during which he hit .438 with 28 hits, 12 doubles, five home runs, and 22 RBI. Since RBI became an official statistic in 1920, no major leaguer had previously achieved all of those totals during any 15-game span. For the month of May, Goldschmidt led the major leagues with a 1.288 OPS and 33 RBI, alongside leading the National League with a .404 average. His ten home runs ranked second in the NL. He was named the NL Player of the Month. The hit streak continued for 25 games until June 4 versus the

, when Goldschmidt was 0-for-2 with two bases on balls. Over the 25 games, he batted .424 (42-for-99)/.482/.869, 24 extra base hits and 36 RBI. It was the longest by a Cardinal since

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine ...

hit in 30 straight in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, and tied for third-longest for the Cardinals since 1963. Goldschmidt reached base safely in 46 consecutive games, which ended on June 11, 2022, versus the

. In a two-game span versus the

on June 14–15, 2022, Goldschmidt achieved nine hits in 12 at bats with four home runs, six runs scored, nine RBI, a double, and no strikeouts. No player had matched or exceeded those totals with zero strikeouts over a two-game span since

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the l ...

on May 5–6, 1925, when the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

visited the St. Louis Browns. On June 21, Goldschmidt claimed his fourth Player of the Week award after having batted .467 (14-for-30), with four home runs, 11 RBI, and a .967 slugging percentage. He tallied at least one base hit in each of the seven games over the week, including four multi-hit games. On July 5, 2022, Goldschmidt scored his 1,000th run in a contest versus Atlanta. On July 16, he hit his 300th career home run in a game against Cincinnati, the 153rd major leaguer to reach the milestone. Goldschmidt was named the starting first baseman for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game, played at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

. In the first inning, he hit his first career home run in an All-Star Game. On July 24, it was announced that Goldschmidt, along with teammate

Nolan Arenado Nolan James Arenado (; born April 16, 1991) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Arenado is widely recognized as an elite third baseman, both offensively and defensively. ...

, would not be allowed to travel with the Cardinals to Toronto for a scheduled series against the Blue Jays, due to his lack of a COVID-19 vaccination. At the end of the season, Goldschmidt led the National League with a .578 slugging percentage and .981 OPS while ranking second with 115 RBIs, 324 total bases and a .404 on-base percentage. His .317 batting average and 35 home runs were ranked third and tied-fifth respectively in the NL. Goldschmidt was named the 2022 NL

winner. He was named a finalist for the

National League Most Valuable Player Award The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

alongside teammate

and

Manny Machado Manuel Arturo Machado (; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Very highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he a ...

. Goldschmidt was awarded his fifth Silver Slugger Award, giving him the all-time record for Silver Sluggers won among First Basemen. On November 17, Goldschmidt won his first NL MVP, garnering 22 of 30 first-place votes.

International career

Goldschmidt was selected to the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

for the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

, splitting time at first base with Eric Hosmer. In 13 at-bats, he slashed .077/.250/.077 with three walks. Team USA would go on to win the tournament. On August 6, 2022, Goldschmidt announced that he would again play for the United States in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Personal life

Goldschmidt met his wife, Amy (), during his freshman year at Texas State; they married in October 2010. The couple have two children, a son and a daughter. Goldschmidt became an evangelical

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

as an adult; he has Jewish and German ancestry. In September 2013, Goldschmidt graduated from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree leve ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in management. Goldschmidt owned a home in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nic ...

, selling it in 2020. That same year, he bought a home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, purchasing it from South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen. During his tenure with the Diamondbacks Goldschmidt set up a charity, called "Goldy's Fund 4 Kids". His charity has hosted

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

events, which raises funds for Phoenix Children's Hospital.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldschmidt, Paul 1987 births Living people American people of German-Jewish descent Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Texas Christians from Texas Gold Glove Award winners Major League Baseball first basemen Missoula Osprey players Mobile BayBears players National League All-Stars National League home run champions National League Most Valuable Player Award winners National League RBI champions People from The Woodlands, Texas Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas Baseball players from Wilmington, Delaware St. Louis Cardinals players Texas State Bobcats baseball players University of Phoenix alumni Visalia Rawhide players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2017 World Baseball Classic players Anchorage Bucs players