Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has been voted Least Valuable Player

2022 was the pinnacle season for Paul Goldschmidt. He wreaked havoc across all of Major League Baseball and displayed peak power which is extremely rare for a 34-year-old. But Goldy lead the Cardinals into the postseason alongside superstar teammate Nolan Arenado to one of the most memorable Cardinals seasons in franchise history. Goldy topped off his incredible season by winning the National League Most Valuable Player award. His slash-line was .317/.404/.578 (.981 OPS, 177 OPS+) with 41 2B, 35 HR, 115 RBI, and 178 total hits. For a player who has been one of the best players at his position for over a decade, this award was a long time coming. This season stamped himself into the record books.

Two years later we are seeing the polar opposite of what his MVP season brought us. Instead, we are seeing a colossal downfall of a once great player within our game. Goldy in 2024 is slashing .241/.299/.406 (.705 OPS, 95 OPS+) with 30 2B, 22 HR, 62 RBI, and 143 total hits. This could be argued due to a player being hurt or not playing a full season. But Goldy has already surpassed his games played mark from 2022. In his final season of his current contract with the Cardinals, this drastic drop-off will leave the Cardinals front office brainstorming on whether they want to bring back their veteran leader next season.

This observation of a production dropoff is not just noticed in St. Louis. It has grabbed the attention of the national media. The Atheltic's Jayson Stark publishes a yearly article where he casts his votes for MVPs, Cy Youngs, Rookies of the Year, Managers of the Year, LVPs (Least Valuable Players), and Cy Yuks (Worst Pitchers). Using his Weird and Whacky baseball analysis, he goes deeper into his picks and why he came to his conclusions. As a baseball fan, you can predict Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani as the MVPs, Tarik Skubal for American League Cy Young, and Paul Skenes for Rookie of the Year in the National League. But the most fascinating pick for his awards is Paul Goldschmidt for Least Valuable Player in the National League. It only took two seasons for the former MVP to win the worst award given out to any player.

With rumors that the Cardinals and Paul Goldschmidt are both interested in a reunion, do you think this is the right decision? With the public being fully aware of an unraveled front office, maybe they need someone new to the situation to provide their insight. As much as Cardinals fans love their players, the time to say goodbye is inevitable. It will be hard to make this decision with Paul Goldschmidt. But seeing historic drop-offs like this will make you accept reality.