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St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt Joins Elite Club in National League History

Paul Goldschmidt racked up two doubles in the St. Louis Cardinals' win over the New York Yankees on Sunday, becoming the sixth NL first baseman ever to record 800 extra-base hits.

Sam Connon

Aug 31, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (46) runs out a double against the New York Yankees during the third inning at Yankee Stadium.
Aug 31, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (46) runs out a double against the New York Yankees during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
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Paul Goldschmidt ultimately didn't contribute much to the St. Louis Cardinals' runaway victory against the New York Yankees on Sunday, but the veteran first baseman did make history in the winning effort.

Goldschmidt finished the afternoon 3-for-5 with two doubles and a single. He did not score a run or record an RBI in the series finale, instead letting outfielders Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbar usher the Cardinals to a 14-7 win with six runs and eight RBI.

As for Goldschmidt, he has now recorded 820 extra-base hits in his career, 801 of which have come when he's been playing first base.

According to TSN's StatsCentre, Goldschmidt is now the sixth first baseman in National League history to reach 800 extra-base hits. If he notches 17 more extra-base hits in the final month of this season, he would pass the recently-retired Joey Votto for fifth on the exclusive list.

Todd Helton owns the record with 987, followed by Jeff Bagwell at 964. Freddie Freeman leads active players with 869.

Goldschmidt, who turns 37 years old next week, is in the midst of his least efficient season of his big league career. He is batting .244 with 20 home runs, 25 doubles, 55 RBI, eight stolen bases, a .712 OPS and a 0.9 WAR through 130 games.

The seven-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, four-time Gold Glove winner and one-time MVP notched his 2,000th career hit in July, and he is now one of two first basemen ever to reach 2,000 hits, 1,000 RBI, 400 doubles, 350 home runs and 150 stolen bases. Bagwell, a Hall of Famer, is the other.

Goldschmidt's contract is set to expire in November, which means he is likely to enter free agency this winter. He has only ever played for the Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks, but that could change if the veteran has new suitors emerge in the coming months.

For now, Goldschmidt will help the Cardinals make a final playoff push by continuing to hold down the fort at first. At 69-68, St. Louis is 5.0 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot with 25 games left on the regular season slate.

The Cardinals are opening up a series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday at 2:10 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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