If you were asked the question, “Who’s the best player in baseball,” who would your answer be? Prince Fielder? Adrian Gonzalez? Nelson Cruz? Bryce Harper? Or maybe it would be one of the most recent MVP winners, Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen, or Mike Trout. Sure, there really isn’t a wrong answer with one of those seven players listed, but there is one name that rarely comes to mind in these conversations, and it’s Paul Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt is a 6-foot-3 first baseman who plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks and was brought up to the bigs in 2011. He only played in 48 games that year, because his call-up came late in the season, but it was his time to get acclimated to the big leagues. Since then, Goldschmidt has been nothing short of great, as he has averaged .296, 25 homers, and 92 RBIs, in his first three seasons.
So what’s the point of this conversation? It’s that Paul Goldschmidt doesn’t get the respect or the attention that he deserves.
Gary Cohen, who is the New York Mets broadcaster and one of the best announcers in the game, was talking about the possible National League starters for first base in the upcoming All-Star game. The first two players that he threw out there were Adrian Gonzalez and Anthony Rizzo. Gonzalez is a great candidate, as he is hitting .332, with 11 homers, and 38 RBIs, but Rizzo isn’t far behind with his .317 average, nine homers, and 31 RBIs. Cohen also mentioned Lucas Duda, who had a great month of May and brought himself into the conversation.
After the commercial break from that inning was over and the telecast came back on, Cohen apologized to everyone watching and could not believe that he left Goldschmidt out of that conversation. Cohen later said that Goldschmidt is “probably having the best season out of anyone in the majors," and he certainly has a good argument for that. Goldschmidt is currently hitting .355 and has 44 RBIs, which are both tied for second in the entire MLB, and he also has 15 home runs, which ranks him sixth in the league. So not only is he one of the best hitters in the game this season, but he also could very well be the NL MVP if he keeps it up.
This same conversation occured a couple of nights later on ‘MLB Tonight’ on the MLB Network, as Greg Amsinger, Harold Reynolds and Bill Ripken were discussing the same topic. All three guys did the same thing that Cohen did, and mentioned Gonzalez, Rizzo, and Giants first baseman Brandon Belt. They completely forgot to talk about Goldschmidt, and were later reminded by their producer, and also couldn’t believe that they left him out of the conversation.
It’s instances like that which prove Goldschmidt doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Sure, when he steps up to the plate, opposing teams and pitchers know, but to the average fan who is watching the game, Paul Goldschmidt is just another player. One of the reasons for that, may be because of the city he plays in.
Players like Cabrera, Trout, Gonzalez, and Rizzo, all have the advantage of playing in big markets, and are constantly talked about in those media outlets. Goldschmidt however, does not. It’s unfortunate because has been one of, if not the best player in the majors since the start of 2012, and constantly gets overlooked. He hits for power, average, and can field it with the best of them. And with the season he is currently having, it’s time for people to take notice, and see how talented he really is.