Mike Schmidt

Mike Schmidt is a former professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was born on September 27, 1949 in Dayton, Ohio. Schmidt graduated from high school in 1967 and enrolled at Ohio University, where he played shortstop. He was drafted by the Phillies in 1971 by Tony Lucadello. The Phillies converted Schmidt to a third baseman due to the presence of Larry Bowa at shortstop. Schmidt played in the Phillies minor league system for less than two years and made his Major League debut on September 12, 1972.

Mike Schmidt struggled his rookie season of 1973. He had a batting average of .196 and struck out 136 times, but he showed promise as a power hitter with 18 home runs. In 1974, Schmidt made his first All Star Game appearance and lead the league in home runs with 36. Schmidt would lead the league in home runs in 1975 and 1976 when he hit 38 each year. He helped the Phillies to three consecutive National League East championships from 1976 to 1978. A highlight of1976 came against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. Schmidt hit a home run in each of his four at bats during the game. At the end of the 1976 season, Schmidt won his first of nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards for defensive excellence at third base.

Schmidt hit a then career high 45 home runs in 1979, but the Phillies failed to reach the playoffs. In 1980, Schmidt had his best season in the Major Leagues when he hit 48 home runs and 121 runs batted in. He made the All Star team for the fifth time and won the MVP of the National League and of the World Series. The World Series victory was the first in team history.

Mike Schmidt went on to lead the league in home runs four more times in his career. He had a streak of nine consecutive seasons with at least 30 home runs from 1979 to 1987. He won the MVP Award in 1981 and again in 1986 at the age of 37. On April 18, 1987, Mike Schmidt hit his 500th Major League home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates.http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/04181987.shtml

A shoulder injury during the 1988 season limited Schmidt to just 108 games and a career low 12 home runs. The injury limited his defensive ability at third base. In 1989, he played 42 games, batted just .203 with 6 home runs. His struggled defensively as well and committed eight errors. After a poor series against the San Francisco Giants, Mike Schmidt retired in San Diego on May 29, 1989.http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/30/sports/schmidt-retires-after-17-years-and-548-homers.html?pagewanted=1 He retired with the 548 home runs, the most ever by a third baseman. Mike Schmidt was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.http://baseballhall.org/hof/schmidt-mike

Mike Schmidt was an All-Star third baseman for several seasons before the 1980 season but failed to gain respect from many of the hometown fans. Part of that was the team's failure to advance to the World Series after reaching the playoffs three consecutive years from 1976 to 1978. But in 1980 the Phillies defeated the Houston Astros three games to two to advance to the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.

In the first game, Phillies rookie pitcher Bob Walk defeated Dennis Leonard. Tug McGraw got the save and Bake McBride hit a key home run in the third inning. The Phillies won the second game with ace Steve Carlton pitching. Schmidt helped the Phillies four run rally in the eighth inning of the game with a double to drive in a run. Mike Schmidt hit his first home run of the series in game three, but the Royals won that game to cut the Phillies lead to two games to one. The Royals won game four in Kansas City as well to even the series at two games a piece. The series went back to Philadelphia for game five. Schmidt hit a two run home run in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. The Royals lead going into the ninth inning, but the Phillies scored two to take the lead and won 4-3 to take a three games to two lead in the series. In game six, Mike Schmidt gave the Phillies the lead in the third inning with a single to drive in two runs. It was all the runs the Phillies would need for Steve Carlton. Tug McGraw pitched the ninth to save the game and the Phillies won 4-1 and won the World Series for the first time in team history.http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ws_recaps.jsp?feature=1980 Mike Schmidt was named the MVP of the series.

Mike Schmidt was a member of Phillies television broadcast team on PRISM in 1990. Schmidt went on to play in many golf tournaments on the Celebrity Players Tour. His best finish was a tie for second at the 1998 Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational.http://www.tahoecelebritygolf.com/Player_Bios/Schmidt-Mike.html Schmidt played in two Champions Tour events in 2000. He finished 61st at the Royal Caribbean Classic and withdrew after two rounds of the LiquidGolf.con Invitational after he shot rounds of 75 and 76.http://www.pgatour.com/players/r/?/01/10/03/results Schmidt was the manager for one season for the Phillies A affiliate Clearwater Thrashers in 2004. For the past several years, Schmidt has appeared at the Phillies minor league complex for two weeks as a hitting instructor. Schmidt wrote the book Clearing The Bases in 2007.http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Clearing-the-Bases/Mike-Schmidt/e/9780060855000 In the book he evaluates the state of the game including the steroid controversy. Mike Schmidt was the third base coach for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic in 2009.http://www.groundreport.com/Sports/World-Baseball-Classic-2009-Team-USA-Names-Coaches_2/2880362

• Gold Glove Awards: 10 (1976 - 1984, 1986)
• All-Star Appearances: 12 (1974, 1976, 1977, 1979 - 1984,1986, 1987, 1989)
• Silver Slugger Awards: 6 (1980 - 1984, 1986)
• National League MVP Awards: 3 (1980, 1981, 1986)
• World Series MVP: 1 (1980)
• Hall Of Fame Induction: 1995
• Named to the Major League Baseball All Century Team