Aug 17, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (48) celebrates with third baseman Ryan McMahon (19) after the Yankees defeated the St. Louis Cardinals and swept the series at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Paul Goldschmidt Made History In Return Vs. Cardinals

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The New York Yankees had a hole at first base and certainly filled it this past offseason.

The St. Louis Cardinals moved on from Paul Goldschmidt after he spent six seasons in the organization. Goldschmidt joined the Cardinals ahead of the 2019 season and quickly became a fan-favorite and leader in the organization. In six seasons, Goldschmidt won a Gold Glove Award, a Silver Slugger Award, and was named the 2022 National League Most Valuable Player. He got MVP votes in four of his six seasons in St. Louis.

Goldschmidt now is 37 years old, though, and the Cardinals opted to move on.

Well, he returned to Busch Stadium as a member of the Yankees this weekend. He started for the Yankees on Sunday and went on to go 3-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI.

On top of this, he made a bit of history in the process that will catch Cardinals fans' attention, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"Baseball doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme: Paul Goldschmidt's third hit of the day in his first start back at Busch Stadium against his former team, the Cardinals, was the 2,169 of his career," Goldschmidt said. "That passes former STL teammate Yadier Molina on the career hit list."

Cardinals-Yankees clash led to history for former St. Louis star slugger Paul Goldschmidt

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Goldschmidt is having a bounce-back year for the ages this season. He's slashing .280/.334/.763 with 10 homers, 41 RBIs, and 66 runs scored. Goldschmidt was a fan-favorite in St. Louis and certainly has been missed this year.

The Yankees have been fortunate to have him this year. The Yankees lost Juan Soto and had to fill in for him by committee. The Cardinals lost Goldschmidt and replaced him with Willson Contreras. So far this season, he's slashing .255/.344/.787 with 16 homers and 65 RBIs.

It's always tough to lose a franchise cornerstone. That doesn't necessarily get easier. But, there wasn't any bad blood seemingly towards the end of the run. Things just didn't work out between the two sides. Things have worked out for the Cardinals at first base and also has for the Yankees at first base. Both sides seemed to work out. It's a win-win for both sides, but it was nice to have Goldschmidt back in town even for a weekend.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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