JUPITER, Fla. — For the first time in Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt‘s career, he’ll go into a season as the reigning National League Most Valuable Player.

But does that award and any elevated status that comes with it also create any added pressure to produce an encore?

The question in itself wasn’t absurd. However, the fact that Goldschmidt is who he is makes the question absurd.

That’s why Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol grinned before kindly explaining why that question hadn’t taken up much real estate in his mind. It’s also why Goldschmidt’s teammate and outfielder Lars Nootbaar‘s facial expression said no before his mouth could get the word out.

Goldschmidt, 35, seemed so unaffected when asked about following up his MVP season that it would be impossible to tell from his demeanor if he’d won one MVP, five MVPs or none.

“I’m not even thinking about last year or winning any awards,” Goldschmidt said. “I’m just trying to do the best I can to help us win, try to win the World Series.”

While the Cardinals fell to the eventual NL champion Philadelphia Phillies in a disappointing Wild Card series sweep in last year’s playoffs, Goldschmidt turned in the best performance of his career during the regular season to lead the club to the NL Central Division title.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-handed hitting Goldschmidt led the NL in slugging percentage (.578), OPS (.404), ranked third in batting average (.317), second in RBIs (115) and smashed 35 home runs.

“I always talk about him and Nolan (Arenado), they’re kind of the models for success,” Nootbaar said. “They’re two different kind of athletes. With Goldy, he’s the most methodical guy I’ve ever seen work. He’s a meticulous worker. Everything is so attention to detail with him. I guarantee he’s going to go out and be the same exact player, just because who he is.”

The same mentality that propelled Goldschmidt, an MVP runner-up in 2013 and 2015, to a career-best season has allowed him to have a far-reaching impact on the way the Cardinals do things on a daily basis. With Yadier Molina‘s retirement, it might make Goldschmidt the most influential player in the clubhouse.

His influence shows up in small ways such as clubhouse conversations with Nolan Gorman and Juan Yepez fully engrossed and locked on Goldschmidt in the clubhouse as he demonstrates, bat in hand, what he tries to do on a swing.

“I think he has been around this game so long that any knowledge from him is good knowledge,” Gorman said. “Just to be able to pick his brain about whether it’s something on my brain or something that’s come up throughout the day. Just always getting his opinion is definitely worth it. He’s seen a lot. He’s done a lot. And he knows how to play the game the right way.”

Goldschmidt’s influence also shows in Brendan Donovan‘s and Nootbaar’s laser focus as Goldschmidt broke down foot placement on the third-base bag during a baserunning drill on a back field at the club’s spring training complex.

“I wasn’t in the big leagues when he came over, but we started doing baserunning drills throughout the organization that he brought over,” Nootbaar said. “That’s a great example of it. I think he’s the best baserunner in the big leagues.

“It’s pretty incredible what he’s able to do on the base paths because he’s not a speed guy, but he steals bases. He cuts corners. He just does all the little things correctly that an average fan may not see, but being there every single day, it’s really remarkable. And it’s something that I’ve really never seen. He is so detail-oriented that it’s unbelievable.”

That’s why Nootbar didn’t hesitate in making a definitive statement that the MVP won’t change anything about Goldschmidt. Those little things have gotten Goldschmidt where he is.

“He’s always going to go about it like that,” Nootbaar said.

Marmol, who managed Goldschmidt for the first time last season, contends it takes only moments around Goldschmidt to realize the 12-year veteran’s barometer isn’t individual awards or statistics.

“I don’t think he’s coming into this season trying to repeat an MVP,” Marmol said. “He’s just (thinking about) how can I get better in order to help us win and go further into the playoffs and win a championship. And he’ll peek up when it’s all over and see where he’s at.”

Of course, his personal success makes him a player others naturally want to emulate and learn from. After all, he’s also got seven All-Star selections, five Silver Slugger awards and four Gold Glove awards to go with his MVP.

“There’s things defensively that he’ll bring up that get adopted by other players. Obviously, offensively as well,” Marmol said. “We were talking through different game situations a couple days ago on the half field on double play feeds and the way he approaches that.”

Goldschmidt, an eighth-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009, credits the veteran players and coaches in the Diamondbacks organization for sharing their lessons with him as he was coming up. He specifically credited Diamondbacks first base coach Dave McKay, a former Cardinals coach during Tony La Russa‘s tenure as manager, for teaching him the finer points of baserunning.

“As you become the more veteran player, you get the opportunity to share these things,” Goldschmidt said. “It’s nothing that I made up. This is all information or wisdom that was passed onto me that I’m trying to share. But I’m also trying to learn. I’m talking to our rookies and talking to coaches and ‘Hey, if you see anything that you think I can do better or something I can learn from, I’m still trying to learn and get better.’ That really hasn’t changed.”

He cited Donovan as having given him a helpful tip about his swing last week.

Goldschmidt’s MVP season serves as proof that he has practiced what he preaches about constantly learning and adjusting.

The tremendous offensive performance he had in 2022 dates back to the end of 2019.

Coming off one of his “worst years,” Goldschmidt started the process that ultimately included changes to his offseason preparation, what drills he did, his training regiment and tweaks to his swing.

He said he learned a lot about his swing and his body during the pandemic shutdown, including a lot of work he did with former Cardinals hitting coach Jeff Albert.

The fruits of that labor were first evident to Goldschmidt during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and he also had a torrid offensive stretch from June 2021 through September 2021 (a .324/.399/.589 slash line and 25 home runs in 103 games).

“It was just a natural adaptation of trying to improve and get better,” Goldschmidt said.

Goldschmidt downplayed the idea that he’d been a big influence on others in the organization. After all, he insists the attention to detail, constant evolution of his game, and willingness to learn and share aren’t traits exclusive to him.

“Everyone’s doing it here,” Goldschmidt said. “That’s a big focus on the details. It’s not just me. It’s everyone doing that, and they were doing that long before I got here.”

Goldschmidt being in the middle of those discussions now as one of the elder statesmen and the reigning MVP should only help sustain that dynamic.