Is Paul Goldschmidt a Cardinals Hall of Famer?

The St. Louis Cardinals are starting the 2024 off-season with the mindset to reset the organization and prepare for change. With many moves ahead for Cardinals fans to endure, the first move might be the biggest of the off-season. John Mozeliak informed first baseman Paul Goldschmidt that they intend to not resign him going into the 2025 season which will make him a free agent. After six seasons donning the Birds on the Bat, the chapter of Paul Goldschmidt has come to a close.

It has been a very memorable six years for this era of Cardinals baseball. The Cardinals found themselves in mediocrity from 2016-2018 and struggled to establish themselves as a legitimate threat in the National League. This would all change during the 2018 offseason.

In a rumored battle between the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals, it appeared star first baseman of the Arizona Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt was about to relocate to a new franchise. On December 5th, the Cardinals won the sweepstakes by trading Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, and Andy Young to Arizona for Goldy. Six years later this is still one of the most lopsided trades in Major League Baseball history.

Goldschmidt not only became the star player in St. Louis, he might have earned himself a red jacket to join the Cardinals Hall of Fame. Goldy put up 22.2 WAR over 836 games played, where he averaged a slash-line of .278/.360/.483/.843 (130 OPS+) with 179 doubles, 153 home runs, 477 runs batted in, 495 runs scored, and 874 total hits. He finished top 20 in National League MVP voting four times and won the award after a monster 2022 season. 2022 will be Goldy's signature career season where he batted .317/.404/.578/.981 (177 OPS+) with 41 doubles, 35 home runs, 115 runs batted in, 106 runs scored, and 178 total hits. This season also resulted in his only all-star game appearance in St. Louis.

The downside to his future Cardinals Hall of Fame case was his performance in October. While the Cardinals were able to pair Goldy with friend superstar Nolan Arenado for four seasons and create a magical season in 2022 with Albert Pujols, the team fell short and disappointed every single time. The Cardinals have not won a postseason series since 2019 NLDS which was Goldy's first season in St. Louis. What led to this disappointment was the lack of production from their star players. Even though it was a disappointment, the team was still playing in October every season Goldy was there up until 2023. From how the organization was standing from 2016 to 2018, it is hard to argue signing Goldy was one of the biggest moves of the 2010s.

With the Paul Goldschmidt era coming to a close, do you think he did enough to earn himself a spot in the Cardinals Hall of Fame? Has he solidified himself in recent years to be next to recent Hall of Fame elects Matt Morris, Matt Holliday, Keith Hernandez, and Jose Oquendo? Or was there more left to prove from Goldschmidt in a Cardinals uniform to make his case for the red jacket? Let us know your thoughts on our social media sites as we reflect on the Cardinals career of Paul Goldschmidt!