Goldy gets 'huge honor' of college retiring number

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- When he showed up to play baseball at Texas State University, Paul Goldschmidt was given uniform No. 37 in large part because it was the jersey that was big enough to fit him.

Turns out Goldschmidt will be the last person to wear 37 as Texas State surprised the D-backs first baseman a couple of weeks ago with the news that it was retiring his number.

Goldschmidt and his wife, Amy, were in San Marcos, Texas, for Texas State Baseball's Annual Lead-Off Dinner when the announcement was made.

"I had no idea and my wife had no idea," Goldschmidt said. "They let my parents know so they drove in. That's pretty cool. It's a huge honor; there have been a lot of great players there, so hopefully I can continue to represent the university well."

The jersey retirement ceremony was scheduled to take place before the Bobcats' game on Tuesday, but it was rescheduled for tonight due to weather.

With the D-backs' first full-squad workout set for Wednesday, Goldschmidt will be unable to attend the ceremony. His parents, David and Kim, will be there on his behalf.

"I'm glad they're there," Goldschmidt said. "They supported me so much from a young age, starting with Little League, and they drove up many times to watch me in college, so I know they'll enjoy it. There have been so many people who have helped me, whether it was before college, during, after. It starts with my parents, my brothers Rob and Adam, and all their support. My wife, who I met there at Texas State, the support she gave me in college and in pro ball as well."

Goldschmidt is Texas State's all-time leader in home runs and RBIs. As a junior in 2009, Goldschmidt helped lead the Bobcats to the Southland Conference championship that included a record 41 wins.

Goldschmidt becomes the first Texas State baseball player to have his jersey retired and will be just the fifth across all sports at the university.

"They're great leaders there, they're great role models," Goldschmidt said of the Texas State coaching staff. "When you're a college kid and away from home for the first time, to have coaches that can be role models on and off the field is important. They treat guys with respect and honesty. When they recruited me, everything they said was true. They treated us exactly as they said they would. They expected a lot out of you, but if you did things the right way, then they would have your back no matter what."

Coincidentally, Goldschmidt did not get to choose his number with the D-backs, either.

Selected by Arizona in the eighth round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, he was given No. 44 when he reached the big leagues on Aug. 1, 2011.

"When I [was] called up, they just handed me a jersey and I wasn't going to complain," he said. "I've never been a big guy with numbers. As long as they gave me a jersey, it could have been any number from zero to infinity and I wouldn't have cared."