Finding Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt is one of the best PLAYERS in all of baseball! Not one of the best hitters, not one of the best first basemen, not one of the best power hitters in baseball, Paul Goldschmidt is one of the best players in the game of baseball and his numbers back it up.

Of all the stories we can talk about concerning the D-backs, none is bigger than finding Paul Goldschmidt and that includes Patrick Corbin’s 9-0 start. Corbin is a great story and the D-backs may have found an ace with the young left-hander, but finding the franchise guy that you’re going to build your team around for years to come is the story of a generation.

Barring injury, the D-backs have found their Albert Pujols, their Chipper Jones, their Andrew McCutchen. The man Justin Upton was supposed to be has emerged from the bowels of the Diamondbacks organization. He was hiding in plain sight the whole time.

And the best part about finding the guy you are going to build your entire franchise around is…he’s Paul Goldschmidt. Superman has emerged, wearing Sedona Red: humble, professional, dedicated, sincere, competitive. Paul Goldschmidt is the Diamondback Way.

Goldschmidt is the culture of the clubhouse. And the people at NASA couldn’t build a machine to measure how critical this is for any franchise. Finding Paul Goldschmidt means pointing at him and telling every new variable that walks into the clubhouse one simple thing: do what he does and act the way he acts and you’ll be okay.

Superman, generally speaking, is the first one in and many times the last to leave. He loves his job, has a passion for it, and works at his craft. He is an excellent fielder, clutch hitter and seems impervious to his own success. His head is down and his eyes are low and he exudes old school principles in a new school era. He hits for average, hits for power, sprays the ball all over the park and is the enemy’s worst nightmare with runners in scoring position. He runs the bases well, keeps his head up and his situational awareness is special.

This guy is not like us. I’m not saying he’s an alien, rocketed from the planet Krypton by his father, but whatever lies within Paul Goldschmidt — the thing that makes him unique — is as rare as Kryptonite.

To wit: Paul Goldschmidt signed a 5-year, $32 million contract extension this offseason. How many guys have you seen sign a huge contract extension and produce beyond the parameters of the contract they just signed? The answer is very, very few but Paul Goldschmidt has done just that.

The Cult of Personality has come to Phoenix in the form of a Paul Goldschmidt and the rest of the nation is starting to notice. The Diamondbacks first baseman is one of the best players in the Major Leagues. And nothing could be more important for the Arizona Diamondbacks than finding Clark Kent.

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