Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt
Goldschmidt in 2015
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 44
First baseman
Born: September 10, 1987 Wilmington, Delaware
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 1, 2011, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB statistics (through April 27, 2016)
Batting average	.298
Hits	691
Home runs	122
Runs batted in	428
Stolen bases	68
Teams
Arizona Diamondbacks (2011–present)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (2013–2015) 2× Gold Glove Award (2013, 2015) 2× Silver Slugger Award (2013, 2015) NL Hank Aaron Award (2013) NL home run leader (2013) NL RBI leader (2013)

Paul Edward Goldschmidt (born September 10, 1987), nicknamed "Goldy", is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2011.

Goldschmidt is a three-time MLB All-Star. He has won the National League Hank Aaron Award, Gold Glove Award, and Silver Slugger Award.

Early life

Paul Goldschmidt was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and grew up in The Woodlands, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

He attended The Woodlands High School and attended Texas State University to play college baseball for the Texas State Bobcats baseball team. He was twice named the Southland Conference hitter of the year (2008 and 2009), once named Southland player of the year (2009)^[1] and was a third-team All-American as a junior in 2009 after hitting .352 with 18 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBIs) in 57 games played.^[2] Goldschmidt set records for home runs (36), doubles (45), walks (110) and RBI (369) during his three-year career at Texas State.

Professional career

Minor League

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Goldschmidt in the eighth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.^[3] In 2009 he excelled in Rookie League for the Missoula Osprey, hitting .334 and 18 home runs along with 62 RBI in his first half-season of professional baseball.

He continued his success the following year in the California League, where he was selected as an all-star as well as the league's Most Valuable Player. He was also named the Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League Player of the Year.^[4] In 2011, he was again named the Diamondbacks' player of the year, a Baseball America first-team Minor League All-Star, Double-A all-star first baseman, Southern League all-star first baseman, and Southern League Most Valuable Player.^[5]

Overall, Goldschmidt hit .317 with a .407 on-base percentage and 83 home runs in two and a half minor league seasons.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Goldschmidt in 2011

Goldschmidt was called up to the majors on August 1, 2011, becoming the first Texas State position player to play in the major leagues.^[6] At the time of his call-up, he was leading the minors with 30 home runs. Goldschmidt tallied a base hit in his first at-bat on August 1, and hit his first home run the next day off San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. In his rookie season, Goldschmidt batted .250 with 8 home runs and 26 RBI in 48 games.

In Game 3 of the NLDS playoffs against the Brewers, Goldschmidt hit a grand slam home run to extend the team's lead in its first victory of the series. His homer was the third grand slam by a rookie in MLB postseason history.^[7] The Diamondbacks lost the series in five games, and Goldschmidt batted .438 with 6 RBI and an OBP of .526.

In 2012, Goldschmidt played 145 games and batted .286 with 20 home runs, 82 runs, 82 RBIs, 43 doubles, and 18 stolen bases. Goldschmidt hit his first career regular-season grand slam on June 1 off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Mármol at Wrigley Field. Four days later, Goldschmidt hit another grand slam off St. Louis Cardinals reliever Maikel Cleto. Goldschmidt hit a third grand slam on August 20, 2013 against pitcher J. J. Hoover of the Cincinnati Reds.

During the 2013 MLB season, Goldschmidt was selected to the National League all-star team. Goldschmidt collected one of only three hits for the National League team, and the only extra-base hit, when he doubled with two outs in the ninth inning. On August 13, he hit a game-tying home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. Goldschmidt then hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eleventh, becoming the first Diamondbacks player to record game-tying and walk-off home runs in the same game. In 160 games that season, he would compile a .302 batting average, 36 home runs, and 125 RBI.

In 2014, Goldschmidt batted .300 with 19 home runs, 75 runs, and 69 RBIs before a broken hand ended his season on August 1. Goldschmidt was the starting first basemen for the NL in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game.

On June 10, 2015, Goldschmidt hit his 100th career home run against Brett Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is now 6th on the Diamondbacks' all-time home run list.^[8] Later that year Goldschmidt would again be the starting first baseman for the NL in the All-Star Game. Goldschmidt would bat a .321 batting average with 33 home runs and 110 RBI in 2015. He would win his second Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award.^[9]

Personal life

Goldschmidt met his future wife, Amy, during his freshman year at Texas State; the couple married in October 2010.^[10]

In September 2013, Goldschmidt graduated from University of Phoenix with a Bachelor of Science degree in management.^[11]

On September 2, 2015, Goldschmidt's first son Jake was born.^[12][13]

References

1. "Southland Conference Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Southland.org. Spring 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
2. "Rising Star – Paul Goldschmidt". TxState.edu. Spring 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
3. 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks draft picks
4. Smith, Daren (August 27, 2010). "Goldschmidt named MVP, top rookie". Minorleaguebaseball.com. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
5. J.J. Cooper and Matt Eddy (September 16, 2011). "2011 Minor League All-Star Team". Baseball America. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
6. "D-backs call up slugging prospect Goldschmidt". Mlb.mlb.com. February 26, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
7. Mark Townsend (October 5, 2011). "Former teammates in minors cheer Goldschmidt after slam". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
8. "Puig has big night, Kendrick lifts Dodgers over D-backs 7-6". ESPN. Associated Press. June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
9. Miller, Doug (November 10, 2015). "Defensive standouts nab Gold Glove Awards". MLB.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
10. "– USATODAY.com". USATODAY.COM. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
11. "Goldschmidt graduates from University of Phoenix". Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
12. "Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt returns from paternity leave". azcentral.com. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
13. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/147550678/new-father-paul-goldschmidt-returns-to-d-backs

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)