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PAUL Goldschmidt has 158 metres between him and ultimate bragging rights.
One of the biggest hitters in American baseball, Arizona Diamondbacks star Goldschmidt today gets his first chance to launch into those iconic SCG grandstands — the venue for his Major League season opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers next March.
Capable of hitting a baseball in excess of 450 feet, the powerful slugger will be pitted against a group of Sydney Sixers batsmen, including Steve Smith, to see if he can break the Guinness World Records six set to by Pakistani blaster Shahid Afridi back in March.
"Sounds like fun, doesn't it," Smith said last night. "I'm certainly not the biggest hitter here at NSW, I think that honour belongs to Shane Watson, but it will certainly be fun having a crack.
"During the Big Bash season our practice sessions occasionally include 'range hitting' — where we basically set a bowling machine up in the middle of the ground and practice hitting sixes. It's all about finding the right swing, the right tempo and knowing exactly what range you have when it comes to clearing fences."
Despite being among the hottest names in US sports right now, Goldschmidt remains relatively unknown Down Under, with even Smith revealing he has never heard of the 26-year-old overnight sensation.
Yet all that is set to change from today, when the Diamondbacks blaster kicks off a whirlwind promotional tour with a series of challenges that will showcase his throwing power, throwing accuracy and ability to send little white balls into orbit.
Despite starting the year on a contract of just $500,000 — the equivalent of NRL Minimum Wage in a league where paycheques are measured in millions — Goldschmidt smashed his way into the American sports consciousness thanks to 36 home runs, equal first in the National League. Elsewhere, he also led the league in slugging percentage (.551), extra-base hits (75), RBIs and total bases (332).
And so the trophies have followed.
In the past fortnight, Goldschmidt has been awarded the Hank Aaron gong in the National League, for best offensive player, and the Rawlings Golden Glove, for best defensive player.
Winning the second of those two prestigious awards is even more remarkable considering, during his minor league career, the man now being dubbed 'America's First Baseman' wasn't exactly revered for his efforts in the field. In fact, the 2009 Baseball America scouting report labelled him a "below-average" defender who was "not smooth around the bag."
"So it should make for an interesting morning," Smith grinned. "I can't wait to see how he hits it."
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