Paul Goldschmidt Launches His First Homer As A Cardinal. And His Second. And His Third.

The NL Central could end up being one of the best, if not the best, divisions in baseball this year. The Brew Crew is back after boasting the best record in the National League last season, the Cubs are the Cubs, the Reds added some big names, and the Pirates have one of the best rotations in baseball. Then, there’s the Cardinals, who are kind of just always there. This year, I have a feeling they’ll be more than just “there” after adding (and extending) this man right here — Paul Goldschmidt.

Not the best first impression on Opening Day — 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts — but we don’t have to talk about that. With a 162-game schedule, every day is a new chance to prove yourself; not that Goldschmidt has anything to prove after four top six finishes in the MVP over the last six seasons. But he has found himself a new home in St. Louis, where baseball is king, after being dealt to the Cardinals back in the first week of December.

It was a move that was pretty slept on, while everyone else waited for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado to choose their free agent homes. With his first homer in a Cardinals uniform, Goldschmidt is on the board after averaging 30 bombs in every season since 2013, each year an All Star. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that we’ll probably be seeing him in Cleveland for his seventh straight All Star appearance in 2019.

UPDATE: He hit two more.