Goodman returned to the Atlanta Crackers in 1946 to bat .389 and lead his team to the Southern Association's playoff series championship.

Goodman spent the spring with the Red Sox in 1947 playing in 12 games, 2 in the outfield, and 10 filling in at second base for an injured Bobby Doerr,[6] He made his first start as a Major League third baseman on May 20, 1948.

[10] Early in the 1950 season, Goodman suffered a chip fracture in his left ankle that cost him a month of play.

[11] Power hitting rookie first baseman Walt Dropo earned himself a place in the everyday starting line-up in Goodman's absence, batting .348 with ten home runs and 33 RBIs.

After Ted Williams injured himself in the All-Star game,[12] Goodman took over in left field for the Bosox, and batted .338 with 23 RBIs filling in for the Boston legend.

He was elected to start the All-Star Game as a second baseman that season despite being sidelined for a month by one of the more bizarre baseball injuries.

[18] Upon Williams' return, he began platooning at first with Harry Agganis (despite the fact that both were left-handed batters) until he was shifted back to second base in the beginning of August.

He was relegated to pinch hitting duties early in the 1957 season before a mid-season trade sent him to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Mike Fornieles.

Goodman was immediately inserted into the starting line-up in Baltimore, and hit a home run in his first game as an Oriole.

At the end of the season, he, Tito Francona and Ray Moore were dealt to the Chicago White Sox for Larry Doby, Jack Harshman and Jim Marshall.

[22] Chicago later sent pitcher Russ Heman to Baltimore as part of this deal when it was discovered by the Orioles that Harshman was suffering from a slipped disc.

Upon his return, he quickly shot up among the American League leaders in batting, with his average peaking at .336 in late July.

[25] He also went two-for-three in game three, and was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning to load the bases with the White Sox down by two runs (they ended up scoring one).

[31] The following season, he appeared on the mound for two games (7 innings) with Durham, leaving catcher as the only position he never played professionally.

Goodman retired from the game in 1976, and became an antiques dealer in Sarasota, Florida, the spring training home of the Red Sox during his decade with them.