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Paul Goldschmidt of the New York Yankees was tabbed as the player to win a humorous award

When the New York Yankees were forced to watch sluggers Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham hit the IL, the doors opened for Paul Goldschmidt.

In true Goldschmidt fashion, he capitalized on this opportunity to shine.

Now, Jeff Passan of ESPN humorously awarded him with a made-up award.

Paul Goldschmidt — the Yankees’ Current Backbone

GettyPaul Goldschmidt of the New York Yankees has been exceeding expectations at 38 years old

In Passan’s latest ESPN release, he made quite a statement regarding Goldschmidt.

His award? “Unc’s Still Got It.”

At 38 years old, Goldschmidt is on the tail end of his professional baseball career.

But looking at his 2026 stat sheet, he seems to have more fuel in the tank this time around.

He’s slashing .293/.355/.543 with a .898 OPS and 12 homers through 52 games.

The last time he owned an OPS higher than .898 was in 2022, when he logged a .982 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

That year, he earned the National League Most Valuable Player Award.

Now, Goldschmidt is on the cusp of reaching a clean. 300 batting average — he sits at .293.

Again, 2022 marked one of his highest averages, posting a .317.

It could be argued that Goldschmidt wouldn’t have been headlining for the Yankees as much as he has been if Judge and Stanton hadn’t been sidelined.

After all, he was originally slated for a part-time role this season. Simply put, the ballclub needs him now more than ever, and he’s been exceeding expectations.

Nonetheless, he’s seamlessly lived up to the “next man up” mentality that is so imperative in baseball.

There’s a great truth behind Passan’s fictional award. Goldschmidt still keeps up with the young guns, and in cases like these, he’s riding quite a bit faster than many of them at this point.

Snapshot of the Yankees Right Now

GettyPaul Goldschmidt of the New York Yankees has been stepping up this season

With many thanks to Goldschmidt, New York is faring quite well overall.

At the same time, they are in the midst of a three-game losing skid.

However, they’re still leading the pack in the American League East with an overall record of 46-31.

The Yankees’ latest shortfall came on Monday night against the Detroit Tigers.

New York was handed a 5-3 loss on the road.

On Tuesday, June 23, at 6:40 p.m. ET, the second clash of the three-game series will commence.

At the time of this writing, the Tigers are second-to-last in the American League Central division. They are just barely edging out the Kansas City Royals (33-46).

While the Yankees continue holding the helm in the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays (43-32) aren’t too far behind.

The Toronto Blue Jays (39-39) are in third, the Baltimore Orioles (38-42) are in fourth and the Boston Red Sox (31-45) are in fifth.

Regardless of how New York’s remaining games against Detroit pan out, the Yankees will soon hit the road once again and head toward Fenway Park later this week.

There, they will be playing a long-awaited four-game series against the Red Sox.

In the meantime, they will be left to ward off the Tigers on the road.

If Goldschmidt can step up at the plate once again, perhaps they can reel in a much-needed series victory at Comerica Park.