Cardinals’ star Goldschmidt rewarded for outstanding season with NL MVP honors
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include remarks from Paul Goldschmidt.
Paul Goldschmidt’s superlative 2022 season has gone a long way toward filling the shelves of his trophy case, and to cap the year, he now has a brand new centerpiece.
Goldschmidt was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player on Thursday night, finishing ahead of Padres third baseman Manny Machado (second) and teammate Nolan Arenado (third). It’s Goldschmidt’s first MVP and the first win by a Cardinal since Albert Pujols secured back-to-back trophies in 2008 and 2009.
Pujols appeared on MLB Network to present the award.
“It’s what you set out to do, is to go out and play well, at the beginning of the year,” Goldschmidt said Thursday night. “It’s not like the goal is to win MVP, but the goal is to play well and go do your part. I think I was able to do that, and have a very consistent year with probably the exception of the last few weeks and the first few weeks.”
Goldschmidt received 22 of the 30 first place votes, and finished second on the other eight ballots for a total of 380 points. Arenado received one first place vote, 13 second place votes, seven third place votes, two fourth place votes and one fifth place vote. His point total of 232 was 59 points behind Machado and 12 ahead of Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who finished fourth.
In his fourth season in St. Louis, Goldschmidt finished with a .317 batting average, 35 home runs and 115 RBI. He led the NL in slugging, OPS and OPS+, leading the Cardinals in nearly every major offensive category.
He is correct, though, in his assessment that chunks of the year were uneven. He hit a mere .245 with two home runs over 108 plate appearances in September and October, and did not record a hit in either of the Cardinals’ two postseason games as they were swept in the Wild Card round by the eventual NL champion Phillies.
“You know, there’s gonna be some ups and downs,” he said. “Obviously proud of what I was able to do this year, and I’ve said it many, many times, it doesn’t happen without so, so many people.
“I mean, we don’t have enough time, if I just started listing names to thank all the people that have been a part and taught me things I’ve learned from and supported me and helped me.”
Each year as a Cardinal has seen him rise through the ranks of MVP balloting. He finished 20th in 2019, 15th in 2020 and sixth in 2021. This year’s win caps his fourth career finish in the top three vote getters; Goldschmidt was second in 2013 and 2015 and third in 2017, all with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He’s the fifth Cardinals first baseman to win the award, joining Pujols (2005, 2008, 2009), Keith Hernandez (1979), Orlando Cepeda (1967) and Stan Musial (1946). The franchise has 18 winners overall, most in the NL.
Last week, Goldschmidt received the NL Silver Slugger Award at first base, his first time winning that award since 2018 and therefore his first as a Cardinal. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove at first, and won the Hank Aaron Award, the MLB Players’ Association’s NL Player of the Year Award, and the MLBPA Alumni Association’s Heart and Hustle Award.
Goldschmidt and Arenado were two of the club’s three finalists for major end of season awards, joining Brendan Donovan, who finished third in voting for Rookie of the Year.
Marmol finishes 4th, more on Goldschmidt
Manager Oli Marmol finished fourth in voting for Manager of the Year, receiving five first place votes. Closer Ryan Helsley received a single fifth place vote in Cy Young balloting, finishing 12th.
Doggedly reluctant to accept praise or acknowledge accolades, even Goldschmidt had to acknowledge begrudgingly Thursday that, yes, with a season like this on the books, he’d earned a little space to allow himself to celebrate.
“Even before I won the award, I was getting a lot of text messages the past week and today,” he said. “I’m so proud of you, and great job, and I was able to tell a lot of people, ‘thank you, and I wouldn’t be in this position without you.’ And those are very true words. I’m not just saying that just to make someone feel good. They’re very true. And I meant them.”
‘I’ve already been working towards next year’
How long, exactly, did Goldschmidt allow himself to rest and feel relief? Oh, perhaps half a week or so.
“I’ve already been working towards next year, I think, probably a day, two, three days after we lost, I was already focused on trying to improve and get ready for next year.”
It’ll be a hard act to follow, and if he does so successfully, he’ll certainly need to shop for a bigger trophy case.