Paul Goldschmidt Reflects on Cardinals' Challenges and Transition to Yankees

Paul Goldschmidt's pride in his time with the St. Louis Cardinals, playing alongside legends like Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright, and winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2022, remains strong. However, he also laments the struggles of the past two seasons that led to his departure from the Cardinals. Reflecting on his performance and the team's failure to make the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, the now-37-year-old Goldschmidt acknowledges that better power and productivity numbers might have kept him with the Cardinals instead of transitioning to the New York Yankees. His emotions are conflicted as he adjusts to playing with new teammates like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, while missing close friends Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras.
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Goldschmidt's move to the Yankees is a poignant reminder of the business side of baseball. Speaking before a game against the Cardinals, he remarked, "We all know this is a part of the business and something like this could have happened. There definitely were some good times, and 2022 was special in so many ways, but last year was also the most disappointing year because I felt like we had a chance to make some noise and maybe win the whole thing." As he navigates this new chapter in his career, Goldschmidt remains hopeful that the Cardinals can build on what he left behind, while he embraces his role with the Yankees.