No MLB hitter is immune to a slump, no matter how well they’re hitting. New York Yankees’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is living proof of that.
Yankees’ Paul Goldschmidt in a Historic Slump
After putting up an OPS of .890 in May and .885 in June, the 38-year-old veteran is going through a truly horrific slump at the plate. He recorded two hits against the Boston Red Sox on June 25; ever since, the 38-year-old has yet to record a single hit in 34 at-bats, which is only the 8th time that a Yankee has gone hitless for that long since 1970. It comes at a truly terrible time for New York, a time in which almost every Yankee not named Ben Rice is slumping. It’s been so bad that they’ve only scored 40 runs in their last 14 games, which is by far dead last in the entire league in that span.
What’s Going On?
Just a few weeks ago, Goldschmidt was easily the hottest hitter on a Yankee roster that is still missing some of its biggest weapons. In fact, his 14 home runs are tied (with Spencer Torkelson) for the 9th-most among MLB first basemen. Though that doesn’t sound very impressive, it’s important to note that Torkelson has played in 90 games compared to Goldschmidt’s 64. Because he couldn’t stop hitting, Goldschmidt essentially forced manager Aaron Boone to keep him in the lineup almost every day, even against right-handed pitchers.
Then, everything just fell apart for the future Hall-of-Famer. Amid his 0-for-34 stretch, Goldschmidt has amassed a whopping 15 strikeouts to just 1 walk, and of those 15 strikeouts, 10 have come in the first three games of New York’s series against the Tampa Bay Rays. He also hasn’t recorded a run and has just 1 RBI since his slump started on June 25. While this is a historically bad streak for a very skilled hitter, it’s also important to remember Goldschmidt’s true role on this Yankees team.
Team Slump
At 38 years old, Goldschmidt was never meant to have a full-time spot in the lineup this season when he resigned with the Yankees in the offseason. The Yankees would’ve probably been happy if he had a repeat of his 2025, one that saw him slash .274/.328/.403 with just 10 homers. But instead, Goldschmidt has looked more like a younger version of himself, at least up until now. It’s not up to Goldschmidt, however, to step up an offense that already lacks star power with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Though Goldschmidt certainly gave him a run for his money, Rice is still the Yankees’ primary first baseman and their most valuable hitter, which is proven by the fact that 3 of the Yankees’ last 8 home runs have come off his bat.
However, outside of their first basemen, the Yankees haven’t been getting production very much out of any of their starters, at least on offense. Even if Goldschmidt were to snap back to his May/June form instantly, there wouldn’t be much he and Rice could do when the entire Yankees lineup is struggling to hit right now. Since June 17, the Yankees have an abysmal 5-15 record, the worst in MLB over that span. They’ve also failed to score more than 5 runs in a single game since June 17, which has happened only six other times in franchise history. In reality, the Yankees should really be very grateful for Goldschmidt’s career renaissance, even if the caveat is an 0-for-30 slump somewhere along the way; because without him, it’s safe to say that the Yankees’ annual “June Swoon” could’ve put them even further behind in the AL East than they already are.
Main Photo Credits: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
