Few people have been around Paul Goldschmidt longer than Turner Ward, who managed him in the minors and served as his hitting coach at two different major league teams. Ward worked with Goldschmidt during the past three seasons in St. Louis, including Goldschmidt’s MVP 2022 season and his disappointing 2024 campaign.
Goldschmidt is now with the Yankees, hoping to help replace Juan Soto after his departure. Ward believes that, despite being 37, Goldschmidt will return to form as the dominant hitter he has been throughout most of his career.
Ward explained that toward the end of last season, Goldschmidt started simplifying his approach again, which helped improve his performance. “Over the last six weeks of the season, he got back to simplifying things,” Ward said.
“Hitting off a tee and things like that. Over the course of last season, his swing got out of sequence and he tried to do too much. Personally, I have no doubt he can get back to being the hitter he’s been.”
Goldschmidt had one of his worst seasons last year, with a rise in strikeouts, a drop in walks, and a general decline in his typical production. Ward pointed out that Goldschmidt’s constant desire to improve his swing and technique may have played a role in the struggles.
He even consulted his bat company and visited Driveline to work on increasing his bat speed. “That’s not for everybody,” Ward said. “We talked about it last year, he did some things I know had a negative effect on him. He sped up his upper half and that’s where the disconnect happened.”
Despite the struggles, Goldschmidt had a strong finish to the season. He posted a .658 OPS over his first 98 games, but finished the last 56 games with an OPS of .826, and a .920 OPS over the final month. “I witnessed it and watched him,” Ward said. “I saw the frustration he felt and then he got back to being as simple as he possibly could and got results.”
The Yankees don’t necessarily need Goldschmidt to return to his MVP form, but replacing Anthony Rizzo with a right-handed first baseman who is getting older carries some risk. However, Ward is confident that the move to New York will work out for both sides.
“What’s really gonna help is he’s a guy that makes everyone around him better and they’ll make him better,” Ward said. “He encourages everyone and he’ll be the one when guys are struggling that will be the voice of reason. What he went through this past year probably magnified that.”
Ward also believes that Yankee Stadium could be a great fit for Goldschmidt, noting that it is a perfect place for a hitter like him who pulls the ball or drives it the other way. “That place is made for a left-handed pull hitter or a right-handed hitter that drives the ball the other way,” Ward said. “He hits the ball to all fields.
St. Louis was not a great place for a guy who drives the ball the other way.” Goldschmidt’s OPS at home last season was .654, compared to .774 on the road.
Goldschmidt now faces the challenge of proving that his struggles last season were not the start of a permanent decline. For much of his career, he has rarely slumped. Ward’s relationship with Goldschmidt began in 2011 when Goldschmidt was in Double-A with Arizona’s Mobile team, and Ward was his manager. “I was very hard on players,” Ward said. “He’s always been a guy that wants to learn and grow. He probably asked more questions than any player I’ve ever been around.”
Goldschmidt’s willingness to learn paid off, as he was called up to the majors straight from Double-A on August 1, and quickly succeeded. “There were questions about whether he’d be able to make the adjustments after a jump like that and I told [then Arizona GM] Kevin Towers, ‘This guy is going to do everything he needs to do to succeed there.’ And he did,” Ward said.
Ward eventually became Goldschmidt’s hitting coach with the Diamondbacks from 2013 to 2015, and again for the past three seasons in St. Louis.
