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JUPITER, Florida. • He was born the year they participated in the World Series for the last time. On second thought, many landmarks in Paul Goldschmidt's life coincide with great years in the history of the Cardinals – graduation from high school in 2006, debut in the major leagues in 2011, first all-star game in 2013 – and he was born in the fall of 1987, when Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee won the pennant.
And there was Goldschmidt on Monday, walking with Ozzie and Willie, all three, training diamonds at the spring training club-club, after Goldschmidt's first full-on training with the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool," said Goldschmidt, whose goal is to make 2019 another great year for him and the cardinals, this time for the same reason. "There are a lot of retired stars in St. Louis and with this organization, so it will be fun to see the guys around us and get to know them. But it's a decidedly professional attitude. And if there is anything that these guys see that I can improve or improve, I'm all ears. And it will be the fun thing. There are many new eyes. "
His eyes are on him – those of his teammates, legends, coaches, fans, media, team leaders – and he's watching back, while Goldschmidt follows all that makes the Cardinals' spring training. Goldschmidt said he would not speak publicly about a contract extension, which has not yet been formally offered, but every Goldschmidt benchmark during his first Florida spring, such as his first full-team training , arouses wonder and wonder.
"Hey, Paul," shouted a young boy in a shrill voice. "Let's see bombs!"
Alas, Goldschmidt's first stick match in the practice of the real stick was not even outright at bat. The right-handed man intervened against Brett Cecil, who quickly threw three balls. Goldschmidt then witnessed an onslaught of the strike before wandering the next field (it was later discovered that Cecil was sick). And in the second game of Goldy, he returned the ball to Mike Mayers.
Many fans have watched every movement of Goldschmidt, whether it's preliminary practice or starting the first goal, wait, is it going this way !? – sign autographs. The 6-foot-3 perennial German headed for the fence and gently warned a girl that the door of the door would swing slowly to her, not to the ground. And then, Goldschmidt extended his big legs and signed his famous name, again and again, while the eyes widened.
"The expectations of the fans are great," said Goldschmidt during his first scheduled spring training training session. "Well Named. And I hope that we will go there, that we will play well, that we will give them a good show and that we will find a way to win a lot of games. "
Goldschmidt is very polite, even deliberately kept in interviews, revealing little, often returning to the old "just trying to help the team win." But he is rather extroverted with some of his teammates, coaches and manager – and has always been. months now.
"I and my coaches Oliver Marmol and Jeff Albert had independent conversations with him, verbally or vocally, and he initiated a lot of them," said Cardinals manager Mike Shildt. "And these are not short conversations. And they are not forced. It's a baseball guy, that's what I mean. The detail. He talks to Stubby (Clapp) to discuss tricky things and get leads, turns and very specific things – nuances. This is a generational fanbase. There are people who understand the game clearly, are respectful and expect to see a good brand of baseball. Basically healthy. That's what they'll see in Goldy. So it's a great wedding. "
Sometimes, after Shildt contacted his new first baseman, the manager followed up with some of the other coaches. There was this shared vertigo about Goldschmidt's inquiries.
"They are like – wow!" Said Shildt. "We all love passion, do not we? We appreciate people who love what they do. And we love that when the passion and abilities of someone are synchronizing. A lot of respect for that, and we like to be part of it. "
Shildt said that Goldschmidt was out of the "central casting" in a sense, that big, humble slugger.
"Often, the hyperbole does not meet what is real – in this case, it has exceeded it," said the skipper Monday before the training session of the day. "He has arrived and has been incredibly attractive, thoughtful and proactive. He is really intelligent and he is really dedicated to what we do and how we do it. He exceeded expectations even before we were on the ground. "
And he arrived on the ground, all eyes at the camp saw the same thing – this presence.
However, last year at this time, the arrival of Marcell Ozuna, the slugger, was the subject of much. He was the missing presence. Ozuna underperformed during an uneven season in 2018. But Ozuna had just experienced a great year; Goldschmidt comes from a great career, so to speak. Oh, and Ozuna is back with St. Louis. Neither one nor the other are under contract after 2019. The Cards have clearly announced publicly their willingness to sign Goldschmidt. Number 46 will not talk about it, but on an official day, he seems to be investing in this new world that is the St. Louis Cardinals, current World Series contenders and former World Series stars.
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