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

#1 - MVP Campaign in 2022

While the Cardinals received some incredible individual performances from Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter during the 2010s, the last time the club had an MVP winner from their team was Albert Pujols in 2009.

Well, in Pujols' return to the club and final big league season in 2022, Goldschmidt paid homage to the Cardinals' legend by cementing himself as a future Cardinal Hall of Famer and strengthening his case for Cooperstown with his own MVP campaign.

During his age 34 season, Goldschmidt played in 151 games for the Cardinals, slashing .317/.404/.578 with 35 home runs and 115 RBI in route to his first career Most Valuable Player award, edging out teammate Nolan Arenado and Padres' third baseman Manny Machado in the voting.

When stacking up Goldschmidt's season compared to other great individual Cardinals' years, his wRC+ ranked 20th all-time among Cardinals, with only Albert Pujols, Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Tip O'Neill, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, and Jack Clark putting up a better wRC+ number in any individual season of their career.

As usual, Goldschmidt was also a finalist for the Gold Glove award at first base, and although he did not win the award, his defense was another feather in his cap during an incredible 2024 season.

Goldschmidt's incredible season helped take some pressure off of Arenado, who wasn't quite himself in his first year in St. Louis, but broke out in a big way by finishing third in NL MVP voting in 2022, posting a 149 wRC+ hitting behind Goldschmidt all season long.

I think the pair having the success that they did helped Albert Pujols break out of his first-half slump and look like prime Albert from July 1st on. Through the first 40 games of his season, Pujols slashed .198/.294/.336 and contemplated retiring midseason. But once the month of July hit, Pujols would finish the year slashing .314/.377/.681 with 20 home runs and 51 RBI down the stretch, boosting the Cardinals' lineup further and leading them to another National League Central Division title.

Goldschmidt's steady MVP play all season long helped Arenado break out, Pujols unleash himself, and positioned the Cardinals to seriously consider adding Juan Soto at the trade deadline before pivoting and adding Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana, the missing pieces to their playoff push.

Even though Goldschmidt was dissapointing while the Cardinals were swept by the Phillies in the Wild Card series, no one can take away how incredible of a year Goldschmidt had for the Cardinals. It was one of the best individual season performances by a Cardinal of all time and was truly worthy of the Most Valuable Player award.

Looking back at the highlights of Goldschmidt's time with the Cardinals, it is easy to see how he left huge impact on the club on and off the field. It was time for both sides to turn the page this offseason, but one day Goldschmidt will be inducted into the Cardinals' Hall of Fame, and hopefully, he'll enter Cooperstown as a Cardinal as well.