After sweeping the lowly Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim previously, the New York Yankees' struggles vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers continued over in Chavez Ravine. New York suffered its first series loss in nearly a month. It just so happened to be to the team who beat them in the World Series last year. Even though Paul Goldschmidt was not part of last year's team, he shall be part of it for this season.
While Goldschmidt was not particularly dazzling at the plate in this pitiful road series for the Yankees, he did provide some of the necessary leadership this team is going to need when it inevitably hits the fan for them later on in the season. For a guy who has been a big leaguer for 15 years, I would hope his sage wisdom would be gospel for his new MLB team. He has been playing so well this season, too.
After suffering a bad loss on Saturday, Goldschmidt's quote may have provided a spark on Sunday.
“The focus has to be on coming out and playing well [Sunday]. Regardless of what’s going to happen with this series, we know that there’s a lot of season left.”
New York took the final one of the three-game series at Dodger Stadium, 7-3. New York still maintains a 5.5-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East race at 36-22. The Yankees are still winners in seven of their last 10 games. In the road series, Goldschmidt was only 2-for-14 at the plate with one home run, one run batted in, one stolen base and one strikeout. This is a silver lining just a bit.
On the year, Goldschmidt is still hitting .333 with six home runs and 28 runs batted in over 58 games.
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Paul Goldschmidt's veteran leadership may be huge for New York Yankees
At this stage of his MLB career, Goldschmidt has seemingly done it all but win a World Series. In his 15-year career out of Texas State, Goldschmidt is well on his way to Cooperstown from his days with the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals and now Yankees. He has won an NL MVP, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and made a slew of All-Star Games. Yet, the World Series still has evaded him.
At 37, going on 38, how many more opportunities does Goldschmidt have at a ring? He only signed a one-year deal with the Yankees this past offseason. While there is certainly a crashing sense of urgency for him to finally get his first, his composure after Saturday's drubbing at the expense of the Dodgers should resonate with this series title contender. If Goldschmidt is composed, so should they.
Ultimately, I think the way that Goldschmidt has played this season and throughout his career should be an ever-present reminder to the Yankees to not only go out and get it, but also let the game come to you. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it suggests that Goldschmidt knows how good this team is and how good it can be. Getting embarrassed on the road in Los Angeles is fine ... for now...
For a team that can get tight at times, Goldschmidt's relaxed nature at his age is a breath of fresh air.