SF Giants fans can breathe easier with notorious Giants-slayer out of the NL

SF Giants fans can breathe a little bit easier now that first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is out of the National League. The veteran slugger reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the New York Yankees so the Giants will only see him for one series in the regular season.

Giants fans are all too familiar with Goldschmidt. He began his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks and quickly made a habit of owning the Giants. He was called up in August of 2011 and got his first career start against Matt Cain and the Giants, hitting a single against Cain for his first career hit. He followed that up the next day with a home run off of Tim Lincecum.

That was the start of his ownage against Lincecum. For his career, Goldschmidt went 15-28 with 7 home runs and 17 RBI against The Freak. But, Lincecum does have two Cy Young awards compared to Goldschmidt's measly one MVP award, so we know who was truly superior.

SF Giants fans relieved Paul Goldschmidt is no longer in the NL

Unfortunately, Goldschmidt has not been much worse against the Giants in his career. The Delaware native has a slash line of .302/.405/.554 with 32 home runs and 115 RBI in 166 games against San Francisco. It seemingly does not matter what uniform he wears, whether as a Diamondback or as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, he has always done really well against the Giants.

Thankfully, now that Goldschmidt will be playing in the American League with the Yankees, the Giants will only have to see him for one series in 2025. San Francisco will face off against the Yankees in New York March 11-13 next season. Let's hope that somehow the Giants can keep him in check.

There was some discussion that the Giants could pursue Goldschmidt this offseason as a way to bolster the first base position after it was a bit of a weak spot for the team in 2024. However, with Goldschmidt and Christian Walker off the board, it seems likelier than ever that the Giants may just roll with LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores at first base.

There are other options out there, but Goldschmidt and Walker were two of the more appealing free agent options.

No matter what, Giants fans can delight in the fact that they only have to see Goldschmidt one time in the regular season next year. Of course, that could potentially change if he gets traded or if the Giants and Yankees were to meet in the World Series. But we will deal with Goldschmidt and Aaron Judge hitting back-to-back home runs against the Giants in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 to win 3-2 when we get there.