Arizona Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt enjoyed ‘fun’ 2013 season, but looking ahead

The 2013 season couldn’t have gone much better, individually, for Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

The 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter had a near-MVP campaign in his second full year in the Majors, slugging 36 home runs, 36 doubles and 125 RBI while hitting .302.

So when he was asked Monday while on the D-backs Hot Stove show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM to describe his prolific year, Goldschmidt had an interesting way of putting it in perspective.

“If you talk about putting it into a word, I would just say fun. I mean, anytime you play well it’s fun,” he responded. “Whether it’s individually or as a team, I think that’s just a huge motivation for a team to win. I mean, it’s more fun when you win.

“Baseball’s fun no matter what, but a lot more enjoyable when you win. Last year was good, but I’ve said it a few times already the last couple of days, it’s over. Last year is over. It doesn’t matter how the team or how individually you played the year before. None of the stats carry over, so you’ve got to prove yourself every day.”

The 26-year-old slugger added that he worked on “a lot of little things” with his game over the offseason and didn’t focus on any particular area. He said he reviewed tape of times when he did well and times when he struggled so he could make adjustments going forward.

Goldschmidt added that he’s eager to play with newly acquired power hitter Mark Trumbo, and that he’s excited to see how the team comes together in 2014.

“I think we have an amazingly talented team. I think we’re going to have great starting pitching, our bullpen, defense, base running, and then our lineup…I don’t think there’s any reason we shouldn’t play well this year,” he said. “I mean, every team every year deals with injuries and different guys performing at different levels. That’s just part of it. But I think we’ve got a really deep roster. We’ve got a ton of talent all over the field, and it should be fun. And hopefully we’ll go out there a win a ton of games.

“I mean everyone’s goal is the same: We want to get out there; we want to win the World Series. We want to bring a title back here to Arizona. And I definitely think we have the roster to do that. Now we’ve got to keep putting in the work in spring and get ready for the start of the year and go out there and perform up to our abilities.”