Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt earns bachelor’s degree in management

What can’t Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt do?

In 2013, the 25-year-old has appeared in the All-Star Game, put together an MVP-caliber season and carried a team for the better part of five months.

But those feats might pail in comparison to his latest accolade: a college degree.

Speaking before Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Goldschmidt, who spent three years at Texas State before the D-backs selected him in the 2009 Draft, told the media that he had officially earned a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Phoenix.

“This was always something I wanted to get done,” said Goldschmidt. “There may be other online universities, but University of Phoenix is the way to go, especially for a ballplayer during the baseball season. It’s tough to do it any other way.”

Even as a ballplayer, Goldschmidt’s degree didn’t come easy. Over the last two seasons, the D-backs first baseman needed to complete 10 online classes, and often had his laptop close by whether during the Christmas holiday or on road trips.

But despite being University of Phoenix’s most well-known student, Goldschmidt’s team-first mentality still managed to shine through.

The National League’s RBI leader recalled an occasion in which a woman stationed over in Afghanistan called him to see how she could help out with a group project. The woman, however, was coming home to visit her children during Christmas and couldn’t locate a steady Internet connection.

Not surprisingly, Goldschmidt stepped up to the plate.

“She called me wanting to know what her parts were that were due,” said Goldschmidt. “I told her, ‘You just worry about getting home. We got it.’ It wasn’t a big project. I figured spending an extra hour trying to do something was the least that I could do.”

While Goldschmidt seems to be just fine at his day job, the former eighth-round pick recently told D-backs Insider that he does have passions beyond the game of baseball and one day hopes to pursue them.

“I’d like to do something with my degree eventually,” said Goldschmidt. “I don’t just want a piece of paper. A lot of jobs that require a college degree go in line with what I’ve now learned in school. I don’t really know what I want to do, but I’d like to talk to people in the business world and see what opportunities may be there and interest me.”