Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt talks bowling event, J.D. Martinez and more

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt will christen the start of the 2018 baseball season with the second-annual Goldy’s Bowling Bash on Feb. 22 at Lucky Strike in downtown Phoenix.

Goldschmidt spoke with the media on Wednesday at Lucky Strike to preview the event and share his thoughts on the upcoming campaign for the Diamondbacks.

“The fun thing was just the atmosphere here,” Goldschmidt said of last year’s inaugural event. “Doing an event for the first time, you don’t know how it’s going to be. Is it going to be stale? Is it going to be upbeat? It was really fun and there was a lot of energy in the building. People had a lot of fun bowling. You don’t know how that’s going to go, so my hope is to repeat that.”

Last year’s event raised over $186,000 for “Goldy’s Fund 4 Kids,” which is a charity started by Goldschmidt and his wife, Amy, to raise funds that directly benefit Phoenix Children’s Hospital. This year’s proceeds are going to the Child Life Program, an area that “helps patients and families cope with fear, anxiety, and separation from home and school during their hospital stay,” according to the hospital.

“We’ve just seen some of the pain and the hurt that goes on over there,” Goldschmidt said. “Just visiting the kids and how a little bit of time or even a small donation can make a difference … Some of these kids can’t leave the hospital for a long time, so giving them a place to escape from the medicine, the doctors and the needles has a lot of hands-on effects to brighten their spirits. Seeing that need, that’s where we want to give back. I just see it as trying to help our neighbors in need.”

With the event falling right before the start of spring training, Goldschmidt hopes his fundraiser will help get fans excited about the upcoming season while also fostering awareness for an important cause.

Goldschmidt hopes there will be a significant turnout from his Diamondbacks teammates, but also said he has received commitments from Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton and former Coyotes captain Shane Doan, among other Valley sports stars.

“Of course we’ll try to get some players from other teams with spring training here,” Goldschmidt said. “That was kind of the idea to have some support, whether it’s friends, players from other teams, past Diamondbacks and stuff like that. We had great local support last year and I was blown away by that.”

In addition to red-carpet festivities, a cocktail reception and the bowling portion of the evening, the event will also feature an after party that includes a silent auction and awards for bowling superlatives.

Goldschmidt said that he’s confident a Diamondbacks player will get the annual award for worst bowler.

“I’ve got some commitments from some guys on our team, and I think it’s going to be someone from our team,” he said. “I don’t know who the worst bowler is because you never know. The idea behind it was to just have some fun and there are awards for the team that wins … We’re very competitive in the locker room and on the field so we wanted to give the team that finished in last place a hard time.”

The All-Star first baseman was quick to downplay his bowling game, suggesting that the event’s close proximity to the start of spring training will hinder his practice time. Regardless, Goldschmidt rolled a strike while shooting B-roll footage with media in attendance Wednesday.

“Average to below-average,” Goldschmidt said of his bowling game. “That was the thing last year and I know it’s going to be tough this year with spring training. We’re doing so much baseball and preparing so I don’t practice as much as I should. I think the great thing about bowling is you don’t have to go out there and do it every day. Whether it’s your first time bowling or you’ve been doing it a lot, everybody can enjoy doing it together.”

Tickets for the event start at $500 and can be purchased on the charity’s website.

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Goldschmidt on Martinez, upcoming season

In addition to previewing the upcoming bowling fundraiser, Goldschmidt fielded questions regarding the free agency of outfielder J.D. Martinez as well as the state of the Diamondbacks with spring training just a few weeks away.

“It’s still early and it’s kind of weird because you realize spring training is getting closer and closer,” Goldschmidt said. “But then you realize it’s still six, seven weeks of spring training and then a long regular season. The fun part about spring training is getting everyone back together … It’s like I rekindling of a family and that’ll be fun.”

Goldschmidt said he hopes Martinez will be part of that family, but the sought-after free agent still remains unsigned after slugging 29 home runs in 62 games for the Diamondbacks after a midseason trade.

“Of course I’d love for us to have J.D. back,” Goldschmidt said. “He was huge for us last year and really contributed to the success we had. He was a great player and I didn’t really know much about him before he got traded over. … Whatever team signs him, hopefully it’s us, but that team is going to get a great player and a great teammate. He bought right in, he competes and he’s prepared. He’s everything you want, so whatever team gets him is going to get a great asset.”

Goldschmidt said he likes the way with Diamondbacks’ talent stacks up with the rest of the league and division, but also acknowledged that several good teams have gotten better in recent months.

“Just working towards building for the regular season, that’s how I see spring training,” Goldschmidt said. “It’s a long year, there’s ups and downs, but I feel like we have a pretty talented team that’s up against this challenge because this division is very tough. It seems like every team that had a really good team has gotten even better this offseason.”

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