Goldschmidt once again raking for Cardinals

Quietly and without a lot of fanfare – as usual – Paul Goldschmidt is having a career year. And given his past achievements, that’s saying something.

Indeed, the St. Louis Cardinals’ six-time All-Star first baseman is among the National League leaders in many key offensive categories, which as of early June included first in batting average (.341), on-base percentage (.421) and OPS (1.023), second in

RBI (47) and slugging percentage (.602) and fourth in runs scored (39).

And the four-time Gold Glover is again living up to his reputation as a sterling defender, vacuuming up ground balls, liners and errant throws with aplomb at what is known as “the other hot corner.”

Not surprisingly, there has been a lot of MVP talk surrounding Goldschmidt and this season may be the 12-year vet’s best chance to bag that award. He came close as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013 and 2015, when he finished second in the voting to Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper, respectively. And he’s been in the top six in balloting every year since, save for 2014. But the man known as Goldy isn’t one to indulge in self-promotion or talking about himself, just going out, doing his job and helping the Cardinals win. Which given the fact they’ve been neck-and-neck with the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the Central all season, speaks for itself.

Goldschmidt and the Cardinals can be seen in action Sunday, July 3, when they close out a three-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies in a game airing on ESPN and ESPN2.