Twelve months聽鈥 almost to the day聽鈥 after he won the 2022 National League Most Valuable Player award, Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt visited a suburb of Seattle and stood in a batting cage new to him, swung a new bat and tried new drills.
All of it was part of this same old pursuit of an improved swing.
With a longer offseason than he and the Cardinals would prefer, Goldschmidt made the trip many hitters, including several of his teammates, have in recent years to Driveline鈥檚 facility in Kent, Washington. It was his first visit there, his first time going through that evaluation and his first time using one of the advanced training facility鈥檚 signature swing programs, speed training. Goldschmidt went with a plan but not preconceptions, and on the flight to the Pacific Northwest he did not make a list of specifics things he wanted to take back home.
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鈥淣o, I was just trying to be open-minded,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淚f somebody would have asked me聽鈥 and they did聽鈥 what I wanted to do, man, I wanted to hear what they say and see what I could learn. There are a number of ways to always be open-minded about improving. That can mean going places like Driveline or talking to coaches, current players, former players, working out with them. I鈥檝e always tried to be open to all of it.鈥
Goldschmidt, 36, is a year removed from being handed the NL MVP Award at January鈥檚 annual 狐狸视频 Baseball Writers鈥 dinner, and he鈥檚 less than a year away from becoming a free agent. Cardinals officials said they plan to discuss a contract extension with their first baseman at some point this offseason, with spring training being the usual time such talks build into negotiations and an agreement. This winter, Goldschmidt鈥檚 focus has been on something more imminent: the season that gives him and the Cardinals a chance to shed last year鈥檚 struggles.
Self evaluation
Toward the end of the Cardinals鈥 first losing season since 2007 and worst finish in three decades, Goldschmidt referred to it as the 鈥渕ost disappointing season of my career.鈥 He made the comment more personal during a recent phone conversation when he described a postseason self evaluation.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 my best year, by far,鈥 he said.
By several advanced metrics, Goldschmidt remained one of the league鈥檚 elite hitters. His hard-hit rate was in the top 7% in the majors, his expected slugging top 14%. His actual slugging percentage (.447) was the lowest of his career in any season, and only his rookie season had a lower on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) than his .810 in 2023. Goldschmidt鈥檚 .409 slugging percentage and .763 OPS in last season鈥檚 second half were the lowest of any second half in his career.
Driveline shared a clip on social media of Goldschmidt鈥檚 cage work, and in it, he said since September 2022, the final month of his MVP season, he felt his stance as he brought his hands back and readied to swing聽鈥 his 鈥渓oad,鈥 in batter鈥檚 box lingo聽鈥 was erratic.
鈥淭hat was the one thing, as I told you guys last year, that I wasn鈥檛 getting in a good position to hit, that good loading position was just inconsistent for me last year,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淏asically, everything I saw and they saw (at Driveline) and they said gave me confidence because it was similar things that I saw and felt and went into this offseason wanting to work on. There was nothing that jumped out and was like, oh man, I had no idea what was going on. So I think that鈥檚 a good thing. It was a lot of the things I had already talked over with our coaches and trainers in 狐狸视频 and begun work on.鈥
In the cage with Driveline鈥檚 Andrew Aydt, Goldschmidt went through several drills to help him 鈥渆ngage that backside.鈥 Instead of his hips leaning forward or pushing him up to his toe too early, Goldschmidt focused on his back hip. Sometimes described as a 鈥渉ip coil,鈥 the idea was to wind toward his right hip and strong back leg as he readied his swing. And then, uncoil to spring into the swing. To practice, Goldschmidt used an exaggerated stance聽鈥 one that started wide open, chest to the pitcher, as if pointing his left leg toward the dugout. He鈥檚 not adopting a new stance but using the drill to build upon his normal stance.
Over and over, that gave him the feel of coiling toward his back leg and getting that 鈥渂igger load into the back hip, the back glutes,鈥 he said. And doing it consistently.
Goldschmidt was asked if that drill helped him feel the difference and if then watching the video reinforced an improvement.
That was when he referenced 鈥渇eel vs. real.鈥
There is the feel at the plate.
There is the real of the video.
鈥淚t鈥檚 feel vs. real, I guess, is the easiest way to say it,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淕uys hit differently. Some guys really need to see it on video. Other guys need to get that feeling in the cage and go back to it. The more old-school way was the feel. There wasn鈥檛 video for years and years, and I didn鈥檛 have video in the minors. If I did, it was limited. So what is that feeling I need to get? Do I need to feel strong on this backside? Do I need to feel my head in a certain way or my hands? So there is that feeling.
鈥淏ut that feeling doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean that鈥檚 exactly what is happening,鈥 Goldschmidt explained. 鈥淔or example, the big thing that people have talked about for the last decade is how people wanted to feel like they hit down on the ball. The new-school hitting guys are talking about how your barrel is actually swinging up. Everyone is saying the same thing. But one is talking about the feeling that guys have聽鈥 short to the ball, kind of feeling like they were hitting down on it. If you watch their video, there鈥檚 really that slight uptick in the swing. That鈥檚 just one example of how what is happening may not be what you have to feel to do that.
鈥淭hat,鈥 he added, 鈥渋s the feeling to get the real.鈥
He was asked what he relied on and when.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to do both,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淚 want to know what is actually happening, and I want to know that feeling. Maybe it鈥檚 the middle of the game. You don鈥檛 have time to go look at video and stuff and you鈥檙e trying to make an adjustment. You need the feeling. Maybe it鈥檚 in the middle of an at-bat and you only have a practice swing in between (pitches). That鈥檚 all feel. I definitely want to know both.鈥
Learning curve
During two days at Driveline, Goldschmidt underwent an evaluation and had a conversation about what the experts there saw in his metrics and statistics.
And one of the days, he just had a blast. The Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Arenado have used Driveline techniques and measures to increase bat speed聽鈥 or, as the technology measures, their hand speed when swinging. One of the drills Driveline encourages involves two overloaded bats and one bat that is 20% lighter, or underloaded. One overloaded bat is end-loaded to create resistance in the swing. In a clip shared by Driveline on social media, Goldschmidt is told he鈥檒l get his swing swifter with that bat through the course of the offseason.
And then he got to let loose with the lighter bat.
The video shows Goldschmidt smiling after clocking 85 mph with his swing speed.
鈥淚 think whenever we get competitive, that鈥檚 going to be fun, especially in the offseason,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淵ou can get into that lull when you鈥檙e just hitting and there鈥檚 not an end goal. (The offseason) is a good thing because it gives you a chance to slow down and work on something. But there鈥檚 not a pitcher and there鈥檚 not a game. You鈥檙e still competitive and there鈥檚 nothing to compete with. The speed training gets those competitive juices flowing.鈥
Goldschmidt said the way the Cardinals鈥 lousy season ended聽鈥 selling at the trade deadline, a roster shifted toward youth聽鈥 gave him more time to begin looking, as the team did, for ways to improve in 2024. He visited this winter Marucci and the Baseball Performance Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he went before to be measured for a form-fitted bat made on the spot. (It鈥檚 there that he adopted the counterbalance 鈥減uck鈥 knob on his bats before 2022.) He had explored Driveline鈥檚 approach and talked to other hitters about it for years, but this offseason gave him the chance to visit. He wanted to do it early聽鈥 because the calendar was on his side.
In the winter, there鈥檚 time to experiment before the spring and it鈥檚 time to get ready.
The offseason is the best time to try something new.
New place. New drills. New tools.
Same goal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the same thing I do every year聽鈥 the exact same thing I do every year,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淐ome up with a game plan. Try to see if there are small ways to improve. Weight room, defense, hitting, other aspects like leadership聽鈥 whatever it is that I can improve and still make sure whatever I do well, I continue to do well.
鈥淭ry to win around the edges.鈥