He did it, Paul Goldschmidt is your 2022 National League MVP. Goldschmidt won the award over fellow teammate Nolan Arenado and San Diego Padres star 3rd baseman Manny Machado. With this being Paul’s 1st MVP and best finish since he placed 2nd back in 2015, when he was with the Diamondbacks, I thought I’d take a look at his season to see how the future Hall of famer made history.
Coming into 2022, Goldschmidt was riding
a relatively strong 2021 campaign, posting a .294 batting average with 31 home runs and 99 RBI’s along with winning his 4th gold glove (1st with the Cardinals). Many fans, including myself, figured he’d put up similar numbers as he was entering his age 35 year old season. A slight drop off was expected since Goldy is getting up there in age. We know he’s coming to the end of his prime, as that’s how it works in baseball, but what Goldschmidt brought to the table no one could have expected.
Paul Goldschmidt put together a very special season where he hit .317 with 35 home runs and 117 RBI’s in only 151 games, compared to the 158 he played in the previous season. Paul was also named the starting 1st baseman for the NL All-Star team where he slugged a 1st inning home run off starter Shane Mcclanahan.
Along with his MVP he earned his 5th sliver slugger award and the MLB heart and hustle award. He left the fans with memorable moments from the countless diving stops to save runs, the walkoff grand slam in extras against the Blue jays and the many defensive gems he shared with MVP finalists Nolan Arenado.
Oh did I mention he got to watch history unfold in front of his eyes with Albert's chase to 700 and Waino and Yadi breaking the most starts as a battery record? Goldy got hot at the right time and stayed hot throughout the season, everyone knew by the all-star break that he was putting together a special season, so to see him win the MVP that’s been 12 seasons in the process it’s amazing to see.
It's crazy to look back to 2019 when St. Louis traded Carson Kelly and Luke Weaver to get a generational 1st basemen that would win his 1st MVP with the Cardinals. 3 years later, I would have called you crazy but St. Louis is a special town where only the best of the best play and Paul Goldschmidt showed that this season by striking Gold on being the National League's Most Valuable Player.