It’s been 85 years since Joe Medwick hit for the National League’s last Triple Crown. Hitting .374 with 31 home runs and 154 RBIs, he put together a season to remember. Yet, in the span since, an American League player has accomplished the feat six times. The most recent, Miguel Cabrera in a historic MVP campaign, did so ten years ago now. While the NL has had some threats to take the crown, the league may have its best candidate yet in Paul Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt has spent most of his career as a quiet superstar. Playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the St. Louis Cardinals, he’s racked up four Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, and three top-three MVP finishes, all without the national attention of a Bryce Harper or Mike Trout. He’s been worth 57.9 bWAR over the course of his career and has a career OPS+ of 146. Were he to retire today, that career offensive mark would tie him at 51st all-time, one point ahead of another Cardinals great in Albert Pujols. Simply put, he’s been consistently phenomenal.
This year, however, he’s found another gear. Goldschmidt is on pace to finally capture that elusive MVP with an all-time great season. He’s so far above his NL competition that he may have a real shot at something greater.
Goldschmidt is On a War Path in 2022
One look at Goldschmidt’s numbers in 2022 is enough to understand the pace he’s on. He leads the NL in OPS+ with a 200 mark and has a .339/.423/.633 slash line. Even in the context of his other seasons, the numbers stand out. In his best year prior to this, his 2015 campaign, he posted a 168 OPS+ and finished second in MVP voting to Harper. Goldschmidt was worth 8.3 bWAR in that stretch. With 35 games left, he’s already up to 7.2 bWAR on the season. He’s not slowed down at all throughout the year either. He has a 1.235 OPS in August, his second best month of the entire season. One final measuring stick to compare him to is his teammate Pujols. By OPS+, only one of the legendary slugger’s seasons is even in the 190s – his MVP 2008 campaign.
In the context of the Triple Crown chase, he’s sitting in a decent spot. Goldschmidt HANDILY leads the NL in batting average with the closest being Freddie Freeman at .326. He’s also tied for the lead in RBIs with Pete Alonso at 105. The only area of the honor he’s short on is home runs, falling two shy of Kyle Schwarber‘s 35 long balls. That’s not unrealistic to catch, especially considering Goldschmidt’s slugging numbers have gotten better down the stretch. In the second half, he owns a .761 SLG and has 13 home runs in 30 games compared to 20 in 89 games started in the first half.
Goldschmidt certainly has a shot, but how does his situation look relative to another Triple Crown winner?
Comparing the First Baseman’s Season With Another Historic Run
It’s not the easiest comparison to look at two Triple Crown winners side-by-side, especially considering many came in a much different era. Given that, let’s look at how he’s doing relative to the only other active player to accomplish the feat – Miggy.
Interestingly, Cabrera’s Triple Crown season wasn’t even his best season. Rather, his wild follow-up in 2013 is, where he posted a 190 OPS+. It again shows the difficulty of winning a Triple Crown – it’s not all about simply being the best player or having the best season. There’s some luck involved with how the rest of the league plays and how many chances a player gets with men on base. He ended just one home run ahead of the next highest batter and only four points of batting average higher. This seems like the model Goldschmidt will have to follow, only it’s RBIs and home runs he needs to separate himself in.
Like Cabrera, Goldschmidt also has another crucial tool at his disposal – protection in the lineup. Miggy’s 2012 Tigers made the World Series and his teammate, Prince Fielder, added another superstar hitter to blast balls out of Comerica Park with. Goldschmidt, meanwhile, has Nolan Arenado, the likely runner-up for the NL MVP, as his co-star. At the heart of the Cardinals lineup, neither are particularly worth facing. Add in the fact that Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, and Tommy Edman are constantly feeding Goldschmidt RBI opportunities, and he has the perfect setup to make a run for history.
Goldschmidt Has a Real Chance at Making History
The man himself isn’t at all worried about this potentially historic feat though. Goldschmidt finds the whole notion of a Triple Crown to be miraculous and a bizzare expectation for any hitter. “To think that’s realistic is probably pretty far-fetched,” he previously told the media. “Like I said, if something like that did happen, it would be pretty amazing, but to think that’s a goal for anyone, that’s a crazy standard.” That’s just who he’s been personally – an under the radar, extremely valuable team player.
Whether Goldschmidt earns that coveted crown or falls short, he’s finally receiving the recognition he deserves. He’ll even get a chance to play under the brightest lights again when St. Louis makes the postseason. There, the national baseball landscape will get to appreciate the consistent brilliance that his made him a star in this league for years. A Triple Crown would just be one more feather in his cap.
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