JUPITER, Fla. 鈥 He first met his trusted companions for every big-league at-bat in the minors.
One arrived in a shipment of various baseball bat models for him to test-drive, and there was something about how it fit in his fists, how balanced it felt when he brandished it, and, of course, how it produced at the plate. Once Paul Goldschmidt got a grip on the 34-inch, 32-ounce Old Hickory TC-1 he didn鈥檛 let go as he reached the majors and carried bats in that model through 11 seasons, six All-Star Games, and more than 6,000 plate appearances.
鈥淎nd I just never switched,鈥 he said.
Until now.
The Cardinals鈥 first baseman joined the vanguard of bat crafting this winter when he visited the Baseball Performance Lab in Baton Rouge, La., and left with a custom Marucci bat designed to help increase his bat speed, right down to the subtly oversized knob nicknamed the 鈥渉ockey puck.鈥 It鈥檚 an inch longer than his previous bat and about an ounce heavier, but that ounce is housed beneath his lower hand on bats crafted specifically to suit his swing. Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, the Cardinals鈥 leading engines of offense, have both used the counterweight knob bats this spring, and Goldschmidt debuted it in Friday鈥檚 game.
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鈥淏asically what Marucci and (BPL) are doing is club fitting 鈥 but for baseball,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淕olf has been doing it a lot longer than baseball. Obviously, I used the same model for a long time and had success with it. I was interested to learn more. It wasn鈥檛 like, oh, I need to switch or do anything, but I think being open-minded 鈥 to do what could potentially increase my performance.鈥
Goldschmidt visited the Titleist Performance Institute several years ago and was intrigued by BPL鈥檚 blend of biomechanics study, advanced tech, and golf-like bat fitting going into last spring. He waited because he did not want to make a bat switch so close to the regular season. In December, Goldschmidt and Arenado met and spent hours together at the lab in Baton Rouge. Former teammate Matt Carpenter also joined them. The two hitters from the middle of the Cardinals鈥 order went through several hours of swings to have their mechanics mapped, their body movements measured, and experiment with a variety of bats designed based on the results.
In an age of spin-rates and 鈥減itchcraft鈥 when the only thing moving faster than pitches is the tech being used to fine-tune them, BPL鈥檚 founder Liam Mucklow says in a video that the lab is 鈥渢he place where we do bat design to blow up pitch design.鈥
鈥淲hat could help me get more mph without changing a whole lot?鈥 Arenado said of his interest. 鈥淲orking on bat speed and stuff like that. Just learning about it. More mph off the bat. Hitting the ball harder, plain and simple.鈥
Arenado left Baton Rouge with a variety of bat models, including one with the counterweight knob 鈥 or 鈥渉ockey puck鈥 鈥 that is 34陆 inches, an inch longer than his usual bat. He鈥檚 used it in batting practice and plans to try it in an exhibition game this spring.
Goldschmidt has swung his exclusively.
鈥淚 was able to swing it a little bit better while keeping the feel and barrel control I had with my (original) bat,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hich is good. Because I really didn鈥檛 want to make a big change. You鈥檝e got to be ready to make changes, but I don鈥檛 know if you want to make wholesale changes.鈥
After having his swing studied, Goldschmidt learned that the TC-1 was, based on balance, as perfect a fit as any non-custom could be. Either he could tell from their first meeting, or after 12 years together his swing adapted. It鈥檚 all about the balance. In partnership with Marucci, BPL has advanced the use of its Balance Point Index (BPI) to measure bats beyond the age-old monolithic length and weight. It determines how hard a bat is to swing, to generate bat speed. To accelerate Goldschmidt鈥檚 bat speed, the initial recommendation was an end-loaded model, more weight away from his hands.
The bat felt right, but the results were off. The hard contact drifted.
One of his hosts had an idea and trotted across McCann Drive in Baton Rouge to Marucci鈥檚 headquarters. Within 15 minutes, Goldschmidt had the new model in his hands that he鈥檒l use in games. They put a 鈥減uck鈥 on it to change the weight distribution.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about what the weight physically is, it鈥檚 where the weight is distributed,鈥 said Micah Gibbs, BPL鈥檚 director of player performance. The puck 鈥渁dds weight but makes it swing faster.鈥
Goldschmidt likened it to boxing 鈥 and the power and control of a punch that comes when the hands remain close to the torso. It鈥檚 like a figure skater tucking in her hands to increase the speed of spins, and what helped Goldschmidt increase that speed and contact was the 鈥減uck.鈥 Instead of a traditional knob, flared knob, or axe-handle knob, the counterweight knob looks like the end of a peppermill or head of a mallet. It could fit in a car鈥檚 cupholder.
Former Cubs outfielder Joc Pederson was the first major-league hitter to use a Marucci bat with the 鈥減uck鈥 in a game, and Joey Gallo used one for an extended stretch. Goldschmidt is the latest in a growing group that will surpass 10 this season.
Although it adds an inch and an ounce, the feel of Goldschmidt鈥檚 35-inch, 33-ounce bat in his hands is similar to his trusty 34-inch, 32-ounce TC-1.
鈥淚f you grip it you would never tell the difference,鈥 he said.
He went to grab his former bat as an example but offered only a telling comment.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any of my old bats here,鈥 he said.
Goldschmidt, 34, is coming off a second-half surge that made 2021 one of his finest seasons. He finished sixth in MVP voting, had 31 homers, 99 RBIs, and a .514 slugging percentage to go with a .294 average. He slugged .618 with a 1.020 OPS after the All-Star break, and in the past two seasons he鈥檚 one of only three NL hitters to have 900 plate appearances and an OPS+ greater than 140, where 100 is average. Dodgers teammates Freddie Freeman (143) and Trea Turner (151) are the other two.
Advanced metrics placed Goldschmidt among the elite hitters with a top 10% finish in average exit velocity (92.6 mph), expected batting average (.293), expected slugging percentage (.575), and hard-hit rate (50.6%). All were career bests in the Statcast era (since 2015), and he鈥檚 never had a season in that time with a hard-hit rate greater than 50%. His average exit velocity ranked second on the Cardinals to Tyler O鈥橬eill (93.0 mph) and 16th overall, per Baseball Savant, snug between Joey Votto (92.6 mph) and NL MVP Bryce Harper (92.5 mph).
The TC-1 bat clearly worked.
Goldschmidt asked if it could work better.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for subtle changes,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s much as you鈥檇 like to go, man, I鈥檓 going to hit the ball 5 mph harder, I just don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 realistic. But if every year, or throughout the year, you鈥檙e looking to get a little bit better in a number of ways, you can make changes. There鈥檚 always a new guy coming into the league who is trying to get better.鈥
Goldschmidt said he would have explored the bat-fitting earlier in his career if the concept had been available. He likened visiting a lab in Baton Rouge and its advanced tech to any tool a player has 鈥 as important as dining with veterans and seeking advice was when he was younger or the cage work with coaches has always been.
A successful hitter seeks any improvement he can get his hands on.
鈥淵ou have to adapt,鈥 Goldschmidt said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to do. If there鈥檚 something that can potentially help, you鈥檝e got to do it.鈥