Cardinals' Goldschmidt wins 1st career NL MVP
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has been named National League Most Valuable Player for the first time.
Albert Pujols, a three-time MVP with the Cardinals, revealed the honor to his former teammate.
From one @Cardinals MVP to another ❤️@PujolsFive | @officialBBWAA pic.twitter.com/186x2j2W9u
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 17, 2022
Goldschmidt received 22 of 30 first-place votes to easily earn the honor over San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who finished as the runner-up. Goldschmidt's teammate Nolan Arenado, the only other player to earn a first-place vote, came in third.
Here's the full breakdown of the top five as voted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America:
| Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldschmidt | Cardinals | 22 | 8 | 380 | |||
| Machado | Padres | 7 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 291 |
| Arenado | Cardinals | 1 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 232 | |
| Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 6 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 220 | |
| Mookie Betts | Dodgers | 1 | 1 | 14 | 154 |
Eighteen Cardinals players have now won MVP since 1931, by far the most in the National League and two behind the New York Yankees for the most in either league. The Cardinals also had three MVPs in previous incarnations of the award before the BBWAA took over voting in '31.
Goldschmidt hit .317/.404/.578 with 35 homers and 115 RBIs in 151 games this past season. Though his push for a Triple Crown came up short, he led the NL in slugging, OPS (.981), and OPS+ (180), finished second in OBP, average, RBIs, and total bases (324), and was top five in a slew of other categories.
Goldschmidt is the 17th first baseman to win the award. He was a three-time finalist and twice finished as MVP runner-up while with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He's the eighth player since 1931 to win his first MVP after two second-place finishes, joining Willie Stargell, Andre Dawson, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout, and Pujols.
The 35-year-old is the oldest MVP since Barry Bonds in 2004 and the ninth-oldest winner in the divisional era (since 1969), according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Goldschmidt adds the MVP to a resume that's already among the finest of his generation. In 12 big-league seasons, he owns a .917 OPS with 1,750 hits, 315 homers, and 1,042 RBIs, along with four Gold Gloves, five Silver Sluggers, and two Hank Aaron Awards.
Austin Riley, J.T. Realmuto, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Sandy Alcantara rounded out the top 10 of this year's voting. Players who received minor down-ballot support included Daniel Bard, Kyle Schwarber, Edwin Diaz, and Starling Marte.