On Tuesday, Arizona Diamondbacks perennial All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and his wife Amy were at Lucky Strike in Phoenix to promote Goldy's Bowling Bash on Nov. 11, which will benefit the Phoenix Children's Hospital Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
Before the Goldschmidts bowled a few frames, Paul shared his thoughts on former D-backs manager Chip Hale and general manager Dave Stewart, both of whom the D-backs parted ways with Monday after the team completed a disappointing 69-93 season.
"You hear the rumors, but still, when you hear the news, you're definitely surprised and honestly sad as an individual," Goldschmidt told ABC15. "Just knowing Chip, he cared so much about us as players. You have such a close, personal relationship with the manager.
"Even if you hear rumors about somebody getting traded or something happening with the manager -- honestly, as soon as the news becomes final, it just hits you really hard just on a very personal level ... You see them more than you see your family, so you can't help but be shocked, I guess."
The D-backs are a franchise in desperate search of answers after failing to make the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The team hasn't dropped any possible names for either open position, but the team does have managerial experience on its existing coaching staff, as former D-backs third baseman and current third-base coach Matt Williams managed the Nationals from 2014-15, and Williams' former D-backs teammate Mark Grace is the team's hitting coach.
Goldschmidt is a fan of both Williams and Grace, but he's content to leave that decision to the front office.
"Both of those guys have been great coaches for us. I've enjoyed playing with them," Goldschmidt said. "I know our front office is going to do the best they can to hire whoever they think is the best fit for the job ... As a player, anything outside my job to go out there and play is not something I concern myself with."
Justified or not, Goldschmidt, who hit .297 with 24 home runs and a career-high 106 runs scored this season, has never been one to put the blame on anyone other than himself for his team's shortcomings. He followed suit once again Tuesday.
"As a player, you definitely feel like the responsibility is on you to go out there and play well, and as an individual and as a team, we didn't play well enough," he said. "I just know how hard (Hale and Stewart) were working, just trying to do everything they could to make our team better and find any advantage, find a way to help us improve, and unfortunately we didn't go out there and play good enough this year.
"I'll take some time off and try to look back at the season, what improvements I could make, what adjustments I could make and go out and play well next year and help us make the playoffs and win a World Series."
