Fansided

Paul Goldschmidt: Baseball’s unheralded superstar

By Josh Criswell

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hits a first inning single against the Arizona State Sun Devils during a spring training baseball game at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hits a first inning single against the Arizona State Sun Devils during a spring training baseball game at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Paul Goldschmidt is experiencing a career-year, and one that has made him quite possibly the most unlikely superstar in Major League Baseball. 

Paul Goldschmidt is not exactly the most imposing opponent to face in the batter’s box, despite standing 6-foot-3 tall and weighing 225 pounds. Aside from an impressive 2013 campaign, in which he rattled off 36 home runs, he has struggled with consistency and failed to top 20 home runs during any other season of his career.

He has also put together good, but not great, numbers throughout his brief time in Major League Baseball, and his inability to stand out in one area has hindered the growth of Goldschmidt’s star-power.

Yet somehow, while playing for a sub-.500 baseball team, he has established himself as a household name in Phoenix, Ariz., and the rest of the MLB would be wise to take note of the Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman if they have not already.

Whether it is because he is playing for an NL West cellar-dweller, he does not bring flash to the table or simply because another first baseman playing for the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers just a four-hour drive across the desert is stealing the spotlight away.

Whatever the case may be, Goldschmidt has become one of the most dominant players in the MLB without half of the expected fanfare.

During the best season of his career, he is currently hitting for an incredible .355 average, up 53 points from his current career-best and good for third in all of baseball.

Perhaps what is most impressive, however, is the .471 on-base-percentage that he is recording. His ability to get on base at such an unprecedented pace is the best in the MLB, and he enters today standing alone atop the list with fellow National League MVP candidate Bryce Harper close behind.

Despite all of this, however, he still stands in second place of the MLB All-Star game voting at first base, thanks to the immense popularity and success of the Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez.

Just before the 2013 season got underway, the Diamondbacks gambled on Goldschmidt with a five-year contract extension with a team option, locking him up through 2019. The first baseman went on to finish second in the National League MVP voting that year, and it is only a matter of time before he makes his third straight All-Star appearance since signing that contract.

To say that the Diamondbacks signed their star first baseman at a bargain would be a massive understatement. Fortunately for the team, Goldschmidt has a few more seasons left on that contract before he hits the first major payday of his career.

When he hits the free agent market in 2019, though, expect him to receive a five-figure raise from his current $3.1 million salary. In doing so, he will make himself the talk of MLB free agency and spark a high-stakes bidding war for the unheralded superstar.

Until then, Arizona needs to figure out what the next step towards becoming a contender is. It is easy to take the impressive numbers and low-profile stature of Goldschmidt for granted, but if the team continues to miss the playoffs year-in and year-out, their first baseman will have a very good reason to walk away.

He will be signing his next contract in his 30s, and while he is currently very loyal to Arizona, a few more losing seasons could easily change his mind.

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