How do you “protect” one of the best hitters and face-of-the-franchise players in all of Major League Baseball?
Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale let out a short laugh and shook his head when Paul Goldschmidt’s name came up during a recent conversation.
Other than finding the best No. 2 hitter on the team to bat right in front of him, the second-year skipper said, you pretty much stay out of the way and let No. 44 – otherwise known as “America’s First Baseman” – be just that.
“Yeah, I think we leave him alone and let him do his thing,” Hale said.