Remember when we were worried about Paul Goldschmidt. Remember when some SILLY people were calling for him to be sent to Reno? [Oh, Twitter... Never change... Well, acvtually: please do] What a difference the month of June made. Though the resurrection of Goldschmidt started a little earlier, after his batting average sunk below the Mendoza line on May 22. The rest of the month, he batted .292 with an OPS over a thousand: y’know, usual Goldy. But then the calendar turned to June, and Goldschmidt went on an epic tear, the likes of which have been seen only a couple of times previously in the history of the Diamondbacks.
For the month of June, Goldschmidt batted .364 with 10 home-runs for a triple-slash line of .364/.460/.738 for a 1.199 OPS. This was, needless to say, the highest in the league among any batters with 70+ PA. Others who perhaps merited some consideration included the Dodgers’ Max Muncy (1.176), Brewers’ Jesus Aguilar (1.099), Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins (1.088) and even Goldy’s team-mate, David Peralta. For the Freight Train had a fine month himself, batting .327 with eight home-runs and an OPS of 1.074. But none could stand in the way of the glory that was Goldschmidt in June, and he joins A.J. Pollock on the roll of honor this year, Pollock having won the same award in April.
Only two other players have ever had a higher OPS for a month as a Diamondback (again, 70+ PA). Luis Gonzalez had three such month: the first month of the 1999 season, then twice during his 2001 campaign. And, last year, J.D. Martinez had the best month ever, posting a staggering 1.382 OPS down the stretch, batting .396 with 16 home-runs. It’s also worth noting that, great though this run was, it’s not even the best month of Goldschmidt’s career. In May 2015, he had an OPS of 1.226, batting .365 with 10 home-runs; the “tie-breaker” there was him walking almost as many times as he struck out, with a K:BB of 25:22. Here are the top 10 months in franchise history:
Top 10 months in D-backs history
Rk | Player | Split | Year | OPS | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Player | Split | Year | OPS | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
1 | J.D. Martinez | Sept/Oct | 2017 | 1.382 | 109 | 101 | 26 | 40 | 16 | 36 | 7 | 30 | .396 | .431 | .950 |
2 | Luis Gonzalez | June | 2001 | 1.350 | 123 | 103 | 26 | 43 | 12 | 35 | 16 | 11 | .417 | .496 | .854 |
3 | Luis Gonzalez | April/March | 1999 | 1.229 | 81 | 69 | 15 | 27 | 6 | 15 | 11 | 4 | .391 | .475 | .754 |
4 | Luis Gonzalez | April/March | 2001 | 1.226 | 109 | 92 | 26 | 29 | 13 | 27 | 12 | 19 | .315 | .422 | .804 |
5 | Paul Goldschmidt | May | 2015 | 1.226 | 126 | 104 | 21 | 38 | 10 | 23 | 22 | 25 | .365 | .476 | .750 |
6 | Paul Goldschmidt | June | 2018 | 1.199 | 126 | 107 | 25 | 39 | 10 | 23 | 17 | 25 | .364 | .460 | .738 |
7 | Reggie Sanders | April/March | 2001 | 1.190 | 71 | 64 | 18 | 22 | 8 | 19 | 6 | 20 | .344 | .408 | .781 |
8 | Luis Gonzalez | August | 2001 | 1.162 | 127 | 99 | 23 | 31 | 10 | 21 | 25 | 13 | .313 | .465 | .697 |
9 | Kelly Johnson | April/March | 2010 | 1.154 | 94 | 80 | 17 | 25 | 9 | 18 | 13 | 17 | .313 | .404 | .750 |
10 | Justin Upton | May | 2009 | 1.154 | 126 | 110 | 25 | 41 | 7 | 21 | 15 | 31 | .373 | .444 | .709 |