St. Louis Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt is having the best season of his career, at 34 years old.
The soon-to-be-35 first baseman looks like a 25-year-old hitter in his prime: he has been hot for the entire year and doesn’t appear willing to slow down.
His excellent performance is the main reason why the Cardinals now have an 8.5-game lead in the NL Central division.
Goldschmidt is, without a doubt, the prime MVP candidate in the National League if the season ended today.
Not only that, but he is also in a good position to compete for an impressive feat: the hitting Triple Crown.
The last time a batter won the Triple Crown was in 2012.
That year, Miguel Cabrera won the first Triple Crown in 45 years by batting .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBI.
The last time someone won the hitting Triple Crown in the National League was in 1937, when Cardinals’ Joe Medwick did it.
Goldschmidt, with a strong finish, could achieve something that hasn’t been done since the pre-World War II years.
That would be extremely impressive.
Can He Really Win The NL Triple Crown?
But what are his chances?
As this graph will show you, he is well-positioned to do so.
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Goldschmidt is, as of Thursday afternoon, on the field, playing against the Washington Nationals.
His updated stats have him with a .328/.416/.613 line, 35 home runs, 109 RBI, and a 1.029 OPS.
He also has 35 doubles, so yes: he has 70 extra-base hits with a little less than a month to play.
It has been the finest season of his illustrious career.
Can he cap it with a Triple Crown and the NL MVP award?
If he wins the former, you can bet he will also take the latter.
NEXT: MLB Insider Reveals What Has Changed For The Cardinals