NEW YORK — St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt won the National League MVP award on Thursday, taking the coveted trophy for the first time after a couple of close calls earlier in his career.
The slugger received 22 of 30 first-place votes and eight second-place nods for 380 points from a Baseball Writers’ Association of America panel of two voters from every NL city.
“It’s a great honor. But it isn’t just about me,” Goldschmidt said in an interview on MLB Network. “I mean, there’s been so many people that have helped me.”
San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado finished second with 291 points after getting seven first-place votes, 13 seconds and seven thirds.
Goldschmidt’s teammate with the NL Central champion Cardinals, third baseman Nolan Arenado, came in third with 232 points. The El Toro High product was picked first on one ballot, second on two and third on 15.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman received six second-place votes, six third-place votes and 13 fourth-place votes and finished fourth. Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts finished fifth with a third-place vote, a fourth-place vote and 14 fifth-place votes.
Two other Dodgers received votes. Shortstop Trea Turner finished 11th and starting pitcher Julio Urias, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting, was 14th courtesy of his one third-place vote.
The 35-year-old Goldschmidt batted .317 with 35 home runs, 115 RBIs and a league-leading .981 OPS this season. He had 41 doubles and scored 106 runs while compiling a .404 on-base percentage and topping the league in slugging percentage (.578).
“I think definitely as you age, you have to adapt, and that’s some of what I’ve tried to do. I’ve tried to get ahead of it,” Goldschmidt said. “You can’t just try to do the same thing you did the year before. But yeah, kind of the stigma that as you get older, you’re going to keep getting worse. I mean, nobody likes that. They don’t like being told you can’t do something, so it’s definitely motivation.”
The seven-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner was runner-up for NL MVP in 2013 and 2015, then finished third in 2017 – all with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He came in sixth last year with the Cardinals.
Machado batted .298 with 32 homers, 102 RBIs and an .898 OPS. He had 37 doubles and scored 100 runs to lead the Padres into the playoffs with a wild-card berth.
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Arenado hit .293 with 30 homers and 103 RBIs, sparkling on defense at third base again to earn a 10th consecutive Gold Glove to begin his career. He had 42 doubles and an .891 OPS.
Powered by Goldschmidt, Arenado and a resurgent Albert Pujols, the Cardinals went 93-69 and won their second division title in the last four years. They were swept at home by the eventual NL champion Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card round.
“Whether I won this or not, it was going to be a great year,” Goldschmidt said. “This was my best year and the most fun I had, playing with Nolan and Albert and so many guys we had. So, it was just incredible.”
Goldschmidt, Machado, Arenado, Freeman and Betts were named on all ballots. The ballots, submitted before the start of the postseason, were cast by two writers in each NL city. They are tabulated on a system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third and down to one for a 10th-place vote.
Full voting can be seen here.