Remember when scouts said Paul Goldschmidt had a “slow” bat?
The only things slow these days is his national recognition. Goldschmidt has 34 doubles and 16 home runs in his first full season as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman, and he has developed into the cleanup hitter and a driving force in their offense.
His 34 doubles are third in the majors at his position behind Cincinnati’s Joey Votto and Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez, and his 61 RBI are third in the National League. Goldschmidt and Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer are the only first basemen with double-digit stolen bases. Each has 11. Votto and Goldschmidt are 1-2 in the NL in batting average and OPS, and a case could have been made that Goldschmidt deserved an All-Star berth although he would not push his candidacy himself.
Goldcshmidt showed several sides of his game Sunday. His two-out, two-run double off Washington left-hander Ross Detwiler in the third inning gave the D-backs a 3-0 cushion in a 7-4 victory, completing a stretch of 30 games in 31 days before a travel day to St. Louis on Monday. Goldschmidt is hitting .380 with 17 doubles and 10 homers in 121 at-bats against lefties this season.
Manager Kirk Gibson was more taken by Goldschmidt’s aggressive, heady baserunning in the second inning. Goldschmidt turned first and immediately header for second on third baseman Ryan Zimmerman’s throwing error to open the inning, making it without a play.
On the next pitch, Goldschmidt stole third base and scored when catcher Kurt Suzuki threw the ball wide of third and into left field. Film study had shown that Detwiler can have a deliberate move to the plate, and Goldschmidt took immediate advantage.
“Goldy is real steady. He really set the tone for us early — hustled to first, hustled to second on the error. We knew that Detwiler would lift (his front leg) like that. He didn’t wait a pitch, scored the run,” Gibson said.
“That’s good stuff. That is information that’s there. It’s properly executed. We’ve talked about Goldy, how he processes information. For a young kid, the way he looks at it and the way he uses it is very impressive.”