Goodwin opted to wait until 1989 to sign with a team, agreeing to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers, after being selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1989 MLB draft.

[2] Goodwin's major-league career highlights include 369 stolen bases over 14 years with the Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs.

After retiring as a player, Goodwin managed the Lewisville Lizards of the Continental Baseball League, coached for the Lowell Spinners (a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox), and served as a roving outfield instructor and base running coach in the Red Sox' minor-league system.

[5] On November 2, 2017, Goodwin returned to the Red Sox organization as major-league first base coach on the staff of new manager Alex Cora.

During Boston's 2021 season, Goodwin missed several games in the first-half of August, after being deemed a close contact with Red Sox bench coach Will Venable, after the latter had a positive COVID-19 test.

[7] Near the end of September, Ramón Vázquez took over as Boston's first base coach in preparation for the playoffs, as MLB mandated that only COVID-vaccinated staff would be allowed in dugouts and on the field during the 2021 postseason, and Goodwin was not in compliance.