ANAHEIM, Calif. — For more than a dozen years, from some of Paul Goldschmidt’s earliest games in the minors to a reunion with coach Turner Ward in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, they’ve spent months together in a batting cage with a common pursuit, and all of that shared experience has been helpful as they work to solve the former MVP’s early slump.
With, that is, a caveat.
“I didn’t see him struggle,†Ward said with a grin of the 30-homer, 100-RBI prospect who arrived where he was managing at Class AA in 2011. “The struggle for me was not to ever take him out of the lineup.â€
With two singles Tuesday night against the Angels, Goldschmidt hoisted his batting average above .200 for the first time in more than a week. Starting with a solo homer Sunday in Milwaukee, Goldschmidt’s production has started to climb — he entered Wednesday 5 for 14 in his previous three games — but without shedding the strikeouts. Entering the second inning Wednesday, he had 11 strikeouts in his previous 20 at-bats. Helping him recalibrate his swing, sometimes one element at a time, has been the Cardinals hitting coach who Goldschmidt has known far longer than either of them have been Cardinals.
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Ward managed Goldschmidt in Arizona’s minor league system, and they first paired together as hitting coach and All-Star with the Diamondbacks. Goldschmidt once gifted Ward a Silver Slugger Award as a thank-you, and when the first baseman received the Hank Aaron Award for overall offensive production in 2013, there in the picture was Ward helping him hold it. Goldschmidt credits the coach for more than helping him find that productive swing. He helped him become that level of player in the first place.
“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be the type of player I’ve been able to be,†Goldschmidt said Wednesday afternoon at Angel Stadium. “You read enough books out there and you know trust is built through shared experience, and some of those are good and some of those are struggles. I don’t have to question the trust. I know where he’s coming from.â€
Goldschmidt said their shared history explains the shared views, too.
Most of the time.
“We’re able to have good, argumentative talks,†Ward said. “He’s open to trying new things. But he’s also stubborn in what he believes and knows.â€
“That’s fair,†Goldschmidt smiled.
Where hitter and mentor have focused is working on specific facets of Goldschmidt’s swing, not trying to solve everything all at once. Stretching back to this past season, Goldschmidt has described being off with how he brings his hands back to trigger his swing. That can alter his timing and may contribute to how opponents are spinning him with off-speed pitches. With input from all the hitting coaches, Goldschmidt has targeted specific parts of the swing to work on while also staying in the starting lineup.
“He’s process-oriented, and he’s trying to concentrate on one thing at a time right now — one body part or one cue,†Ward said. “When you’re going through stuff like this — and I mean any player — the one thing becomes the next thing and then the next thing, and it’s like you try to correct one thing but the other thing doesn’t happen. One thing gets out of whack and then something else does. But get one thing at a time, and then you’ve also got to be on time and then you’re facing a nasty pitcher and you’ve got to separate the two. Compete with whatever you have.â€
Within the three-game series against the Angels there have been examples of that. With the bases loaded in the Cardinals’ key rally Monday night, Goldschmidt got hit by a pitch to force home run. He led off the third inning Tuesday with a single and stole third when the opportunity presented itself to score an early run.
He also struck out three times in that game, twice with runners in scoring position.
“When you struggle especially in the moment, and I’ve had games — yesterday — guys on base, a chance to open up the game and you don’t come through, there’s going to be emotions in the moment, negative emotions,†Goldschmidt said. “Disappointment. Anger. I think those are healthy and good. And then it’s detaching from those and understanding: Alright, I gave my best effort, I did everything I could and now you have to move on and get ready for defense or that next at-bat.â€
Ward knows Goldschmidt well enough to see that reset.
“He’s just trying to stay as even-keel as he possibly can,†Ward said. “He’s the biggest one then cheering on the other guys. When he’s struggling, he’s not trying to focus on himself. That’s a trait that helps him when he’s going through stuff like this.â€
Ward said he’s seen Goldschmidt muscle out of slumps before, because what hitter hasn’t. Although it was often within a season and even during an MVP summer, not staring back at him early in the season from the scoreboard. But that view, too, has changed on the road trip. The Cardinals coaches insist they see positive signs in Goldschmidt as he works out of sight, and there has been increased production within sight, not to mention something a few Cardinals mentioned this week at Angel Stadium about Goldschmidt.
Ward has seen it often through the years.
“He’s smiling,†manager Oliver Marmol said. “That’s a beautiful thing.â€
And he’s likely to stay smiling. Goldschmidt homered during Wednesday’s series finale in Anaheim.
Winn meets Washington
Before leaving Anaheim, Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn confided in teammate Brandon Crawford that he’d like to get an autograph from Angels manager Ron Washington.
Crawford made that meeting happen Wednesday.
Winn got more than an autograph.
Winn spent several minutes Wednesday afternoon near the Angels dugout talking with Washington. The Angels’ first-year manager is one of the most widely respected and highly regarded instructors in the game, especially when it comes to infielders. Winn said he watched video of the drills Washington did with Atlanta infielders during his previous job in the game, and of course, Washington’s skill for working with infielders was dramatized in the movie “Moneyball.â€
Winn said as a young Black player, he wanted to talk with a Black manager.
Shortly after leaving Washington, Winn said he came away with advice.
“Never be afraid to ask questions,†Winn repeated, “and never be too good to get an answer you don’t like.â€
And Winn did get what he really wanted from meeting Washington.
“I got to shake his hand,†Winn said.
Extra bases
- The Cardinals will stick will “honor the off-day†and give all of the starters that extra day between appearances, though they have not yet committed to a starter for Sunday’s game against the Red Sox. Following Kyle Gibson on Friday and Miles Mikolas on Saturday, that series finale would be Matthew Liberatore’s turn in the current rotation, and the Cardinals intend to commit in the coming days to a relief or starting role for the lefty.
- With so few games at Angel Stadium, or “The Big A,†the Cardinals entered Wednesday’s game with the highest winning percentage there of any MLB team, at .750 (6-2).
Pedro Pages is the first Cardinals player at any position to have a three-run double as his first big league hit since the RBI became an official stat in 1920. He’s the first Cardinals catcher to drive in three runs with his first MLB hit.