Paul Goldschmidt believes his second half of a disappointing 2024 is a sign of what’s to come in what will be his debut season with the Yankees.
Yes, the 37-year-old and former MVP knows that nearly every ballplayer in their late 30s with a decorated past believes that they still have more great baseball left in them, but for Goldschmidt, he is leaning on that tangible, recent evidence that he can still be a difference maker at the plate as the Yanks search to replace the massive void in the lineup with Juan Soto’s departure.
“I didn't play well most of the year last year, and there's no excuses for that. That was on me,” Goldschmidt said at his introductory press conference on Thursday. “But looking back, there were a lot of things I learned from that first half. Some things that I did wrong that got exposed, and wasn’t hitting pitches that I’ve been able to connect on for most of my career…it was a year where I didn’t perform my best at all…but I think learning from that and going through that process of going through those adjustments, I got to a spot in the second half where I was able to play better.”
The difference was indeed notable. Goldschmidt slugged a miserable .318 in April and ended the first half of the season with 13 home runs and a .664 OPS. But he picked things up in the second half, batting .271 with a .799 OPS, with August and September being his best two months of the year.
What changed for the Yankees new first baseman? For one, his opposite field percentage in September was by far his highest mark of any month in 2024, as he went the other way on 34 percent of his batted balls. He also posted his lowest swing and miss percentage of the year in September, as he seemed to simplify his approach in the box. It paid off, and he believes it can carry into 2025, when he will turn 38 years old.
“I think I can still play at a really high level,” Goldschmidt said. “I was able to make some adjustments. Some were mechanical with my swing, and others were with my approach…just to keep it very simple. I’m a pretty simple hitter, and I just wasn’t consistently doing that last year.”
The bar is low in terms of improving the offensive production that the Yankees got out of first base last season, as Anthony Rizzo struggled for most of the year, as did Ben Rice aside from a three-homer game against Boston in July. But the Yanks will need more than just an improvement from Rizzo, as Soto and his 41 home runs and elite protection for Aaron Judge have moved across town. The question will be whether Goldschmidt can reverse the trend where his OPS has dipped nearly 100 points in each of the last two seasons, but the seven-time All-Star is hopeful for a bounceback season in the Bronx, and is ready to prove himself in pinstripes.
“Obviously I was really excited,” Goldschmidt said. “Free agency is kind of a long, slow process…we just got to a point where there was a decision to be made, and for me, I was very, very excited to be a Yankee. I’m glad that worked out. I still have that excitement.
“I’m very excited to be part of the franchise and the history they have…they’re just an amazing franchise. I’ve played with a lot of guys who have spent time in New York with the Yankees, and that’s something that stuck out during this process…I don’t remember hearing a bad thing about the Yankees. Everyone, all the players that have played there, spoke very highly about everyone in the organization and the fanbase and the city.”