NL MVP: St. Louis Cardinals 1B Paul Goldschmidt
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was announced as the winner of the National League’s Most Valuable Player award Thursday night. Three-time NL MVP & Cardinal teammate Albert Pujols made the announcement on MLB Network.
Goldschmidt received 22 first place votes & 8 second place votes on the 30 ballots (380 total), while 3B Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres finished with 7 first place & 13 second place (291 total) & Cardinals 3B Nolan Arenado receiving 1 first place vote, 2 second place votes and 15 third place votes (232 total) via the BBWAA.
With winning the NL MVP, Goldy becomes the 18th St. Louis Cardinal to win the award since it’s inception (1931), the first since Albert Pujols (2009.) Goldschmidt joins Stan Musial, Orlando Cepeda, Keith Hernandez & Pujols as the 5th Cardinals first baseman in club history to earn the league’s highest honor.
Goldschmidt (35), slashed .317/.404/.578 with 35 HR, 115 RBI this past season, including 178 hits (41 doubles) and was a legitimate threat for the NL Triple Crown before cooling off towards season’s end. His .578 slugging percentage & .981 OPS were both tops in the National League.
The National League Most Valuable Player Award caps an amazing season for Paul Goldschmidt who already has earned plenty of hardware this season.
He was named NL Player of the Month (May), NL All-Star (his 7th time), NL Silver Slugger at 1B (his 5th time), NL Hank Aaron Award (his 2nd time), NL Outstanding Player Award & The Heart & Hustle Award for 2022.
Goldschmidt will also earn a $1.5M bonus for winning NL MVP as part of the contract extension he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.
What a season it was for #46. A huge congratulations to him for all of the well deserved accolades and achievements that he has earned and been rewarded with.