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If there’s one member of the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup that you would label as being consistent over the years, it would probably be first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt.
Entering his 14th season, he’s been a seven-time All-Star and has won the Silver Slugger Award five times. The right-handed hitter has a career .293 batting average and has driven in over 1,000 runs, playing for both the Arizona Diamondbacks and (now) the Redbirds.
However, Goldy hasn’t had quite the same success this spring, and his lack of production down in Jupiter, Florida, has some folks wondering if he might be on the downside of his career. At 36, he’s played 1,774 career MLB games, and there’s always the chance that the tread could be getting thin on his tires.
Through his first 43 at-bats in the 2024 exhibition season, the 2022 National League MVP has a .116 average and a .233 slugging percentage. He’s struck out 19 times and has just 5 total hits in Grapefruit League play so far.
Paul Goldschmidt Acknowledges His Rough Start
Fans and media aren’t the only ones who have taken notice of the first basemen’s spring struggles. Goldschmidt told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Lynn Worthy that he believes making a few tweaks here and there will eventually get his bat going again.
“Obviously, I haven’t played well at all this spring outside of a few games,” Goldschmidt said following 9-4 loss to the Houston Astros on March 24. “But I feel good. I just need to maybe make a few small adjustments, which I’ve been working on, and I think it’s getting close. I’ll try and do that and be ready to go on Thursday.”
“If I have at-bats and swings like I did this spring, the results won’t be good,” Goldschmidt said. “This wasn’t a thing of bad luck. There’s always ups and downs throughout the year. Hopefully, this was just a down period and I can make adjustments and play well going forward.”
While he admits that he uses spring training more as a way to prepare – as in switching batting stances or changing up some other routines here and there – Goldschmidt says that’s not really what’s factored into his sluggish start.
“There’s always a little bit of that but not to the fact of how I played,” Goldschmidmidt commented. “I want to go out there and play well, especially as you get into the second half of camp. And I didn’t do it. I mean, there’s no excuses.”
“I didn’t play well, but I’ll continue to work; hopefully it’ll be a good thing if it kind of exposed some adjustments that I needed to make. I’m working on doing that and being ready for the season.”
Should the St. Louis Cardinals Be Concerned About Goldschmidt?
While Goldschmidt is convinced that he will pull everything together and get back to his MVP form, his age, and his current slump, have some around Cardinal Nation concerned. Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Fredrickson correctly pointed that out in a recent tweet:
“Is it time to be a little concerned about [St. Louis Cardinals’] Paul Goldschmidt’s quiet spring?” Fredrickson asked. “Coming off down 2023 and entering age-36 season, he’s 5-for-38 with 16 Ks this camp. That’s as many spring Ks as he had in last three camps combined.”
While it’s fair for fans to wonder if the veteran might be slowing down, he is still just a couple of years removed from a 2022 season where he posted a .317 batting average, 35 home runs, and 115 RBI.
The Cardinals and manager Oliver Marmol are hoping for similar numbers in 2024, as they look to rebound from a 71-91 record and last-place finish in 2023.
Goldschmidt and his fellow St. Louis Cardinals will open the season on March 28, when they face Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 28 at Chavez Ravine.
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