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Will Paul Goldschmidt’s first MVP help put him on track for the Hall of Fame?

Paul Goldschmidt is in line to win his first MVP; would the honor help put him on track for the Hall of Fame?


Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals has won the 2022 NL MVP, despite tailing off a bit late in the season after looking like he was going to make a run at the Triple Crown. Still, it was a worthy first-time MVP campaign for a player who had previously been close to winning several times. 

He finished the season hitting .317/.404/.578 (180 OPS+) with 41 doubles, 35 homers, 115 RBI, 106 runs, seven steals and 7.8 WAR. It was one of the best seasons of his career and his best OPS+, though he had a higher WAR in 2015. 

The seven-time All-Star has four Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers (the most ever for a first baseman). He’s finished third in MVP voting before and been the runner-up twice. Winning an MVP certainly boosts Hall of Fame chances and this is his first. It’s always good to be able to flash a little more hardware when voters are contemplating selections. 

Here’s how his Hall of Fame resume is rounding out.

The rate stats are there. Goldschmidt is a career .295 hitter with a .391 on-base percentage and .527 slugging percentage. The 145 OPS+ and 144 wRC+ show what a well-rounded offensive force he’s been throughout his career. Simply, he’s hit for average while being excellent both at getting on base and hitting for power. 

Now, let’s keep in mind Goldschmidt is still in the middle of his compiling before we look at the counting stats. He’s 34 years old, so he doesn’t exactly have an eternity here. With his bat-on-ball skills, the year he had at age 34 and the existence of the universal designated hitter, however, he’s surely got more productive years coming. 

Overall, Goldschmidt now has 1,750 hits, 382 doubles, 315 home runs, 1,042 RBI, 1,045 runs and 147 stolen bases. 

The likelihood here is Goldschmidt won’t hit the biggest benchmarks (3,000 hits or 500 home runs), but he’s en route to getting well into the 2,000s in hits and might approach 2,500. He’s a good bet to topple 400 home runs and maybe get to the 450 range. There’s a slight chance he can get to 1,500 each with RBI and runs. 

Accurately projecting where career numbers end is an incredibly difficult task. The shortened 2020 season being wedged so closely in the past makes it even tougher when we use something like Bill James’ “favorite toy” tool. We’ll do it anyway and prorate his 2020 stats out to a full season. 

Here’s where it has Goldschmidt ending up: 

  • Hits: 2,446
  • Doubles: 535
  • Home runs:…

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