Last night, Paul Goldschmidt put the Yankees on his shoulders to forestall a collapse. Were Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. watching?

A few words about Paul Edward Goldschmidt, "America's First Baseman..." 

Honest. Faithful. Fiducial. Tough. Wise...

Last night, as we all know, Goldy slammed a game- opening HR, putting the haggard Yanks ahead of Baltimore and - perhaps - forestalling the looming June Boone Full-Moon swoon. 

At 38, relegated to a backup, defensive role - resulting from the ascension of Ben Rice and the latest injury to Giancarlo Stanton - Goldschmidt delivered. 

Let's hope Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm were watching.

This week, the Yankees were roiled by matters of loyalty - to Volpe, after returning from an injury, and to Chisholm, after a disastrous trip to Milwaukee. 

Volpe was demoted to Scranton, where he must re-engineer his swing and save his career. Chisholm was benched and watched a ball roll through the legs of his replacement, Amed Rosario. Both players can pine over their current doldrums. Both need look no further than Goldschmidt for how a true Major League star should act. 

Goldy, who turns 39 in September, is a career .288 hitter with 376 home runs. This season, in 20 games, he's at .262 with 4 HRs.

This guy has...

Four Gold Gloves.
Seven all-star game appearances.
One MVP (2022).
Three Players of the Month.
Five Silver Sluggers.

His statistical doppelgangers include Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda, Edgar Martinez and Fred McGriff, along with such candidates as David Ortiz, Joey Votto and Freddy Freeman.

What could make Goldy a lock. (Pun there, get it?)  A ring. An October surprise. One final big moment in the national spotlight, magnified by the passion of New York City. 

In the meantime, at least for now, he is the Yankee first baseman. And every time he saves Volpe or Chisholm from an errant throw, they should salute not just Goldschmidt, but the person he is and the way he plays.