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JUPITER, Fla. • Paul Goldschmidt, still new in this red jersey, batting pigeons and his number 46, remained in uniform while he recently pitched a ball with his son in front of the Cardinals club. Other young children ran around them while a spring training game was narrowing off. All Goldschmidt had to do was change and move away for the day.
Jacob, 3 years old, trotted past the father and, as they headed for the clubhouse, the young Goldschmidt beamed:
"Dad, this place is amazing."
The Cardinals and their new first-baseman are finalizing a $ 130-million, five-year deal that will make Goldschmidt the highest-paid player in the club's history, two sources told Post-Dispatch. having direct knowledge of the negotiation. The agreement includes a non-exchange clause, not unsubscription, and will keep it with the Cardinals until 2024 and at the age of 37. The deal, concluded Thursday, will be officially announced Saturday at the team's spring complex after Goldschmidt has spent a physical set for Friday, a detailed source.
Team officials declined to comment, and Goldschmidt was only briefly in the club after the Yankees' 11-3 Cardinals win at Roger Dean Stadium.
"We are working on something," said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations.
The Cardinals acquired Goldschmidt, 31, in a four-way deal with Arizona in December, and he arrived with a one-year contract. The Cardinals then stated that their goal was to convince the MVP candidate to stay permanently on the ground.
The initial goal was to let him become familiar with the organization and play in a sold-out stadium before "breaking" the extension negotiations. Earlier this month, a Cardinals official said that it made sense for him to see the day of opening and bring his wife and two children to St. Louis before he died. explore the talks. They accelerated last week.
A record contract was reached before his first official match, before he slipped for the first time on official whites. Jacob already has a matching home jersey, though his name is shortened to "GOLDY" to fit his smaller frame.
At Goldschmidt, the Cardinals have discovered the broad shoulders they have been looking for since the start of MVP Albert Pujols as a free agent. Jason Heyward rejected the Cardinals for the Cubs after a year in St. Louis. 15 months ago, Giancarlo Stanton vetoed an exchange with the Cardinals to make their way to the Yankees. The success that the Cardinals have had in acquiring and retaining branded players such as Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and, more recently, Matt Holliday has faded in recent years. This only reinforced their hopes of wooing and keeping Goldschmidt.
"So when you talk about why Goldschmidt versus X, Y or Z, it's because of the intangible nature of his player and person status," Mozeliak said in an interview in his office, a week ago. He explained in detail the team's decision to aggressively attack Goldschmidt. "During this process, we tried to identify what it might look like, and we simply did not seem to be able to do what we hoped to do in any other way. That's why it was urgent to do something with Paul.
"I really think Goldy's added value is that he's going to make your field stronger, he'll make you stronger composition," Mozeliak concluded. "And we've already seen how he'll make your club stronger."
The only national league player to have participated in six consecutive All-Star Games games, Goldschmidt hit an .290 average with a .533 save percentage and 26 homers from last season for Arizona. He has competed with Joey Votto as the National League's first top goal since Pujols left, and Goldschmidt has twice won the Silver Slugger award for the best hitter in the position he shares with elites like Votto and Anthony Rizzo. Goldschmidt finished second twice in the National League's MVP, where he finished sixth of last season and is among the top five players in any major offensive category, new or traditional.
His .534 slugging percentage since 2012 is at the head of every baseball baseball player, and he has won the Gold Glove three times. His 0,934 OPS in this period ranks fourth among active players with at least 3,000 appearances on the plate.
Mike Trout tops the list at 1,000.
Stanton is fifth at 0.915, just ahead of Bryce Harper.
Two teammates last week called him a "force multiplier".
"It was all that was announced," director Mike Shildt said Thursday night. "The nice thing about Goldy is that he just has to be himself. He is really determined to win. He wants to do it in every facet of the game. When you have a guy who is one of your best players who has this mentality, it has a lot of residual effect. A pro is a pro.
In the spring, Goldschmidt politely refused to discuss the situation of his contract, saying that he preferred to keep his thoughts secret. However, he spoke openly about his concern for the stagnant free agent market that has welcomed players over the last two winters and the willingness of the teams to spend to provide the best possible product to the fans.
Last week, partly because of the frenzy of this independent agency, baseball has enjoyed a satisfactory expansion. Trout has agreed to sign a record $ 430 million contract over 12 years. Blake Snell, winner of the Cy Young Award, and Tampa Bay reportedly extended $ 50 million. Houston has recruited third baseman Alex Bregman for a five-year, $ 100 million extension.
Earlier this spring, the Cardinals signed extensions with Jose Martinez and Miles Mikolas. Mikolas has obtained an extension of $ 68 million over four years. When Goldschmidt is finalized, the Cardinals will have committed more than $ 200 million to ensure the safety of three players.
Goldschmidt's contract with the Cardinals exceeds that of Holliday, worth $ 120 million, for a seven-year term, as the richest total guarantee in the club's history . Goldschmidt will complete his current contract, with $ 15.5 million this season, and in 2020 will surpass Yadier Molina's $ 20 million salary to become the highest-paid cardinal of all time.
A Post-Dispatch reporter asked Goldschmidt last week whether he was considering how the cardinals' jersey and the jersey he would wear in the coming seasons would be those whose children, Jacob and Emma, 1 , remember. There will be many images of these memories about to be created. Goldschmidt explained how, when he was young in Arizona, he had seen older players bring their kids around the team, at the spring training and their sons at the clubhouse.
"I thought it would be really cool to share," he said. He also added, "I now have the opportunity to see how a different organization is doing things. It's really about coming here with your eyes open. "
On St. Patrick's Day Jacob Goldschmidt again accompanied his father to the Cardinals Clubhouse to see a special jersey. Goldschmidt asked if it was possible to fish his holiday green jersey in a pile, and once it recovered, he showed it to Jacob to see him, to the front and to l & # 39; back. Jacob's eyes, like his smile, widened.
He will have plenty of time now to understand everything.
Who is the first among all the big ones?
Stan Musial Hall of Fame and future Albert Hall of Fame member Pujols, during a portrait session at the Busch stadium in 2009. (photo of Chris Lee after the Dispatch)
Paul Goldschmidt is the last star of the Hall of Cardinals' first cardinal pantheon. This position, which has probably had more standout players than any other position in the club's history, includes players like Pujols, Musial, Bottomley, McGwire, Hernandez, Mize, Clark, Cepeda and White. Then add Collins, Torre, Guerrero and Allen.
Sorting them is a challenge, but if in doubt, I prefer longevity, as these players wore red cardinals.
Spoil alert: Neither Tino Martinez, nor Bob Horner, nor Joe Hague qualified. Not even Matty Alou. Here are the 15 best ones:
15. ALLEN CRAIG
First baseman Allen Craig scored a goal on the ground in a game against the Mets in June 2014. Craig was traded to the Red Sox shortly thereafter. Post-shipment photo by Chris Lee.
CLERK ON CRAIG: In 2012 and 2013, Craig played primarily first base for the Cardinals and was unequivocally the best baseball clutch hitter, reaching .400 with the riders ranking in 2012 and .454 in the World Series in 2013, counting more than 90 races. the two years and hit 0.307 and 0.315, respectively. But his career took a left turn after a foot injury suffered at the end of the season, while he was trying to avoid a referee at first base in 2013. He was traded to Boston, experienced some difficulties and is now a minor player from San Diego.
14. DICK ALLEN
Cardinals first baseman Dick Allen thanks the fans for a game in 1970. (AP Photo)
COMMISH ON ALLEN: Just a season here, punctuated by injuries that cost him 40 games. But when the Busch II stadium was relatively new, he was McGwire before McGwire, scoring 17 shots at home, in addition to the 17 remaining on the road. The Phillies had traded it to the Cardinals after the 1970 season in exchange for four players in Philadelphia, including Curt Flood, who did not report and who eventually continued baseball over the reserve clause.
13. PEDRO GUERRERO
Pedro Guerrero (center) was a star player in the National League and was third in the vote for the most valuable player in 1989. (Photo by Wendi Brown post-Dispatch)
CLERK ON GUERRERO: The first regular goal of the Cardinals from 1988 to 1992, Guerrero was the best of his season in 1989. He had 117 points out of 17, when he had a total of 42 doubles. Guerrero, a potential free-agent after the 1991 season, has been offered a pay arbitration, with the Cardinals assuming he would refuse it and that they would have a draft pick if he signed it elsewhere. . But Guerrero surprised them, accepted him and became cardinal again in 1992 but played only 43 games due to a shoulder injury. He wanted to hit here on the last day, but did not want it if an exit would put his career under the .300 mark. Guerrero left but his final average was rounded to .300.
12. GREGG JEFFERIES
Cardinals first baseman Gregg Jefferies beat Texas Rangers' Pudge Rodriguez to score a point in the 1994 all-star game at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. (AP Photo)
CLERK ON JEFFERIES: A sneaky entry here. He's barely a glove-man, so he was at first base rather than his second or third regular, Jefferies could hit. And run. His .342 season with 46 stolen goals, 83 RBIs and just 32 strikeouts in 544 in 1993 was one of the most effective offensive seasons of the last 25 years thanks to a Cardinals hitter. He then beat .325 in an abbreviated typing season in 1994 before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. He has never had another season competing with his two here.
11. JACK CLARK
The Slugger of Cardinals Jack Clark in 1987. Photo by J. B. Forbes, [email protected]
CLARK CLERK: What if Clark did not go awkwardly slipping into the first goal in a one-sided game in September 1987 in Montreal? He could have played in the World Series, what is it? And he would have had about 20 appearances at the plate in the comfortable Metrodome of Minnesota, where the Cardinals lost four games in a seven-game series. Surely one or two would have been home runs. In this case, this "ripper" hit 35 homers and scored 106 goals in 31 when he missed 31 games.
10. RIPPER COLLINS
Cardinals first baseman Ripper Collins (left) poses with seventh-game hero Dizzy Dean after the Cardinals won the 1934 World Series with an 11-0 win in Detroit. Right, Dean's receiver, Bill DeLancey. (AP Photo)
CLERK ON COLLINS: James "Ripper" Collins was one of the main sources of power for the champions of the 1934 "Gas House Gang" world series with 35 homers, 12 triples, 40 doubles, an average of 333 batting, 128 RBIs and a score of 1.008. In six seasons with the Cardinals as Bottomley's successors, Collins beat .306. Collins, 5-foot-9 and 165-pound, is the only first baseman to have played a full nine-inning game on two separate occasions.
9. ORLANDO CEPEDA
Orlando "Cha-Cha" Cepeda is sprinkled with champagne after the Cardinals' victory in 1967. Cepeda was the playmaker in a stunning club-club for a team he called "El Birdos". (UPI Photo of Post-Dispatch Archive)
CLERK ON "CHA-CHA": Also known as "Baby Bull", Cepeda has lived here only two full seasons and part of another season, but these two seasons have resulted in two National League pennants, a World Series title and a 1967 MVP selection , having hit .325 and ran 111 times. . He was the very embodiment of "El Birdos" until he was traded after the 1968 Atlanta season for the future MVP and fellow Torre Hall of Fame.
8. JOE TORRE
Third baseman Joe Torre of the St. Louis Cardinals pose before the final game of the 1971 season. (Photo AP)
CLERK ON TORRE: He is also the regular receiver and third base player of the club during his seven-season career with the Cardinals. Torre really enjoyed his best season in third place in 1971, winning the batting league title at .363 and the MVP title. Torre was traded to the New York Mets, paving the way for Hernandez in 1975. Later, Torre, a future Hall of Fame member, returned to the Cardinals from 1990 to 1995 but did not win the title of player or of manager with the Cardinals, although he won four World Series as manager of the Yankees.
7. BILL WHITE
Bill White, who scored 20 or more shots in each Cardinals season from 1961 to 1965, weakened for a single in a game against the Pirates in 1961. (Photo AP)
CLERK ON WHITE: The Cardinals' first baseball player for seven years, including the 1964 World Series champions, White has also won six gold gloves as a Cardinal and has made more than 100 races three times here with a .298 average. One of the most enduring players of his era, White missed only 15 games in four seasons, from 1961 to 1964. He broadcast the New York Yankees for 18 seasons, then became president of NL in 1989, becoming the first African-American to occupy such an important position in professional sports.
6. KEITH HERNANDEZ
Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez was named the National League's most valuable co-player on November 13, 1979. A plaque was awarded two months earlier. Hernandez shared the MVP award with Willie Stargell of Pittsburgh. Photo by Lynn T. Spence, after mailing to St. Louis
CLERK ON HERNANDEZ: He did not have the power numbers of the first ranked players in front of him, but he won the batting title (.344) and shared the Most Valuable Player Trophy with Willie Stargell in 1979. He also flew the Cardinals' World Series equal shots winning his seventh game against Milwaukee in 1982. Defensively, he could have been the best of this group, winning six of his 11 gloves as a cardinal.
5. MARK MCGWIRE
Mark McGwire hits his 62nd race at home on September 8, 1998 against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Post-shipment photo
CLICK ON THE GREAT MAC: Only four full seasons here but what impact he had. After scoring 24 points in 51 games after entering the Oakland game, McGwire exploded to a record 70 and then 65 in the next two seasons. Even in his last two years, this fan favorite scored 61 goals, even though he played only 186 games in that period. He left $ 30 million on the table when he retired after the 2001 season.
4. JOHNNY MIZE
Johnny Mize crosses the plate and is congratulated by Joe Medwick (right) and Spud Davis after hitting a circuit against the Cubs in a match played in 1936 at Wrigley Field. (AP Photo)
CLERK ON MIZE: In six seasons with the Cardinals, "The Big Cat" scored 158 points, averaging 336 points, a total of 1,018 OPS, more than 1,000 in four seasons, the last three leading the championship. In its best year, 1940, the future Hall of Fame dominated the NL with 43 homers and 137 RBIs. Mize was traded to the New York Giants for three players and, more importantly, $ 50,000 before the 1942 season. He missed the Cardinals, who won four pennants in five years.
3. JIM BOTTOMLEY
"Sunny Jim" Bottomley relaxes before a Cardinals game in 1931. AP Photo.
CLERK ON "SUNNY JIM": With the exception of three innings at second base in 1924, the first goal was all that this Hall of Fame had played for the Cardinals from 1922 to 1932, during which time he had won two world championship titles. Bottomley's best season was his 1928 MVP season, where he beat .325 and led the league in Triple (20), Circuit (31) and RBI (136). Did you know that he ended his career with the Browns in 1936-1937 and that at the age of 36 in 1936, he totaled 11 triples and led in 95 innings? As you might suspect, he was so nicknamed because of his playful disposition.
2. STAN MUSIAL
Stan Musial dominates the pavilion to the right of Sportsman's Park under the gaze of Brooklyn catcher, Roy Campanella, during a match in 1950. (Photo AP)
CLERK ON THE MAN: This may be the only category in which Musial will rank second in the history of the Cardinals, but he has played more games in the outfield than at the beginning, between 1,890 and 1,016. The best season of Musial as first baseman came in 1946 when he led the league averaging batting (.365), in points (124), in strokes (228), in doubles (50), in triple (20), slugging (.557) and OPS at 1.021. He was also the league's most valuable player that year, one of three rewards that The Man would win on his way to the Hall of Fame.
1. ALBERT PUJOLS
Albert Pujols is making his third home appearance in the third game of the 2011 World Series. (Photo by Robert Cohen, [email protected])
CLERK ON PUJOLS: The first goal was his main position from 2004 to 2011 with the Cardinals. In this capacity, he was rewarded with the most valuable player awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009, his best ever time being 327 with 47 homers, 135 RBIs and a score of 1.101 OPS. Pujols also pocketed Gold Gloves in 2006 and 2010 and waved to Stan Musial, as Pujols played more than 300 more games than Musial in that position.
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