Top 5 moments of Paul Goldschmidt's career with the St. Louis Cardinals'

Paul Goldschmidt's tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals officially ended on Saturday as the free-agent first baseman signed a one-year deal with the New York Yankees.

While we've known for a while now that Goldschmidt's Cardinal career was coming to an end, it really begins to set in now that he will be wearing pinstripes. Goldschmidt's career ended on a sour note on the field with St. Louis, but his time with the Cardinals will be remembered for a long time. Goldschmidt helped cement his Hall of Fame candidacy as a Cardinal and will one day be a Cardinals Hall of Famer.

On top of that, Goldschmidt was incredible in his interactions with the St. Louis community and the charitable work he did while with the organization. He was a perfect fit in St. Louis, and it's a shame that the club was not able to accomplish more while he was here.

Today I want to reflect on some of the highlights of his playing career. There were a lot of moments to choose from, so please do respond with any that did not make my list.

Here are the top five moments of Paul Goldschmidt's tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals

#5 - Three home runs against the Brewers in his second game with the Cardinals

One could argue that this should be higher on the list, but why not start things off with one of our very first memories of Goldschmidt in a Cardinal uniform?

After being traded for in the offseason, Goldschmidt was thrown right into the intensity of the National League Central in his opening series, facing off against the Milwaukee Brewers on the road. The Cardinals dropped their first game of the season by a score of 5-4, and Goldschmidt was only able to muster a walk in that game.

Well, Goldschmidt took little time to settle in after that, as he had one of the best games of his entire career that next day.

In the top of the first facing off against Freddy Peralta, Goldschmidt battled with him throughout the entire at-bat before smashing a two-run home run to left field, putting the Cardinals up 2-0 against their fierce rivals. Dan McLaughlin's incredible call of the home run featured a "You're gonna love it here in St. Louis!", and little did he know, Goldschmidt had more fireworks on the way that same day.

In the sixth inning tied 4-4, Goldschmidt fought to another 3-2 count, this time against reliever Taylor Williams, and once against smashed a home run to left field, putting the Cardinals up 5-4 in the contest as they looked to secure their first win of the season.

Then, up 6-4 in the top of the seventh inning, Goldschmidt worked his magic one more time, mashing a two-run home run deep to left field, all but securing a win for the Cardinals and showing this fanbase why the front office was so excited to acquire him that offseason.

Goldschmidt reached base in five of his six plate appearances that game, smashing three home runs and five RBI as the Cardinals beat the Brewers by a score of 9-5. What an awesome way to start his time with the Cardinals!