New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is donning the United States' colors again in the World Baseball Classic for the third time.
That means he's been on a WBC roster three more times than he's ever appeared in a World Series, as he's never reached the Fall Classic, thus far in his professional career.
If Goldschmidt finishes his career without ever making it to a World Series, at least he's experienced something he believes is close to the feeling of playing in deep October — at least according to him.
“I haven't played in the World Series, but I can imagine it's pretty close, the former National League Most Valuable Player said in an interview on Thursday (via Yankees Videos).
“Talking with guys that have it's pretty close so it's definitely different there's a lot of emotions some different emotions where you're playing for your country, and it's different than just a regular season, and even a postseason game so it's a lot of fun, you know, almost elimination games, almost every night, so the energy is great. It'll be a lot of fun.”
Goldschmidt won a World Baseball Classic title in 2017 and a silver in 2023. This year, he's aiming to win a second WBC championship — and a World Series title with the Yankees, who have not won the Fall Classic since 2009.
In the 2023 edition of the World Baseball Classic, Goldschmidt, who is now 38 years old, hit .280/.455/.440 with a home run, five RBIs and seven walks through seven games.
Goldschmidt and Team USA will play their first 2026 WBC game this Friday against Brazil at Daikin Park in Houston.
