Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is a Hall of Fame third baseman popularly considered among the greatest third basemen in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Schmidt had an unusual batting stance, turning his back somewhat to the pitcher and waving his posterior while waiting for the pitch. By standing far back in the batter's box, he made it impossible to jam him by pitching inside. Schmidt was one of the best athletes of his time; teammate Pete Rose once said, "To have his body, I'd trade him mine and my wife's, and I'd throw in some cash."
Upon graduation from Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1967, Schmidt attended Ohio University in Athens, where he joined Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. Schmidt led the Ohio Bobcats baseball team to the College World Series in 1970,and was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft with the 30th overall pick.
On June 11, 1971, he was signed by scout Tony Lucadello, who had followed him since Little League Baseball. Six days later, Schmidt made his professional debut in an exhibition game between the Phillies and the Reading Phillies in Reading. Schmidt played the whole game at shortstop for the Phillies and hit a game-winning home run against Reading.Along with shortstop and third base, Schmidt also played some second base in the minors.
Schmidt spent two seasons in the Phillies' farm system, where he batted .263 with 34 home runs and 122 runs batted in. He received a September call-up to the Phillies in 1972, and made his major league debut against the New York Mets on September 12. Four days later, Schmidt ended Montreal Expos pitcher Balor Moore's streak of 25 scoreless innings pitched with his first career home run.
Following the 1972 season, the Phillies dealt third baseman Don Money to the Milwaukee Brewers to open a spot for Schmidt on their infield. Schmidt batted only .196 with 136 strikeouts his first full season, however, he did demonstrate his power potential with 18 home runs.
Schmidt's batting average climbed as high as .356 in 1974 to received the first of his twelve All-Star nods. On June 10, Schmidt hit a ball into a public address speaker suspended 117 feet above and 329 feet away from home plate in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The ball then fell to the field, and by the Astrodome's ground rules, it remained in play. Schmidt was held to a single, and the runners on first and second each advanced just one base. It is believed that had it not hit the speaker, the ball would have carried beyond 500 feet. For the season, Schmidt finished sixth in National League Most Valuable Player balloting as he batted .282 with 106 RBIs and a league leading 36 home runs to help the Phillies avoid a last place finish in the National League East for the first time since 1970. His 404 assists in 1974 remain a record for third basemen. He also filled in at shortstop and first base.
Schmidt's batting average hovered below .200 through the month of May 1975. Solid months of July and August saw his average rise to .249 by the end of the season as he led the league in home runs for the second year in a row with 38. Schmidt started the 1976 season off by hitting twelve home runs in Philadelphia's first fifteen games, including four in one game on April 17, a feat accomplished only 15 times in the history of baseball. For the season, Schmidt drove in 107 runs, and led the league in home runs for the third year in a row (38), and won his first of ten Gold Gloves to lead the Phillies to their first division crown since division play started in 1969.
The Phillies captured the NL east crown three years in a row, however, the were swept by Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" in 1976, and lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977 and 1978. On December 5, 1978, the Phillies signed Pete Rose as a free agent, temporarily making Rose the highest-paid athlete in team sports when they signed him to a four-year, $3.2-million contract. With Rose on board, the Phillies were early favorites to repeat as division winners in 1979. Instead, the Phillies finished the season at 84-78, and in fourth place in NL East. For his part, Schmidt broke the club record for home runs in a season with 45, eclipsing Chuck Klein's 43 hit in 1929.
On October 3, 1980, the Phillies went into Montreal tied with the Expos for first place in the NL East. With a sacrifice fly in the first, and a solo home run in the sixth, Schmidt led the Phillies to a 2-1 victory to capture first place. A day later, Schmidt hit his 48th home run of the season in the 11th inning to give the Phillies the 6-4 extra innings victory over the Expos, and clinch the division. His 48 home runs broke his own team record, and led the National League by a margin of thirteen over his nearest competitor (His home run mark would stand for 26 years until first baseman and 2006 National League MVP Ryan Howard hit 58 in 2006). Coupled with a league leading 121 RBIs, Schmidt was a unanimous choice for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.
The Phillies defeated the Houston Astros in the 1980 National League Championship Series to reach the World Series for the third time in franchise history. Though Schmidt had just a career .191 post-season batting average with no home runs and five RBIs, his bat came alive in the 1980 World Series, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs against the Kansas City Royals to earn him the World Series MVP Award. Following the World Series, Schmidt and four of his Phillies teammates appeared on Family Feud for one week in 1980. He, Larry Bowa, Garry Maddox, Dick Ruthven and Del Unser took on five members of the Kansas City Royals: Dennis Leonard, Dan Quisenberry, Paul Splittorff, John Wathan and Willie Wilson.
Schmidt's best season may have been the strike shortened 1981 season. His 31 home runs were seven more than anyone else in the league. He also led the NL in runs scored, RBIs, total bases and walks, and sett personal highs in batting average, on-base average and slugging average. He won his second consecutive MVP award, this time with 96% of the vote.
The Phillies led the NL East by 3.5 games when the 1981 Major League Baseball strike hit. As a result, the Phillies were named NL East champions for the first half of the season, however, they lost to the second half champion Montreal Expos in the 1981 National League Division Series.
In 1983, in celebration of the team's 100th anniversary, Schmidt was voted by fans the greatest player in the history of the franchise. That year, he led the league in home runs for the sixth time in his career to lead the Phillies back to the post season. Schmidt led his team with a .467 batting average and scored five runs as they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1983 National League Championship Series. It was, however, a way different story against the Baltimore Orioles in the 1983 World Series. The Phillies were held to a .195 team batting average; Schmidt went just 1-for-20 with a single.
Following the 1983 season, the Phillies dealt Pete Rose to the Montreal Expos. Tim Corcoran and Len Matuszek platooned at first in 1984, however, neither provided to the offensive spark Rose did. In 1985, Schmidt was moved to first base from late May through the end of the season with Rick Schu assuming third base duties. The Phillies finished with a below .500 record for the first time since 1974.
In 1986, the Phillies moved outfielder Von Hayes to first base and shifted Schmidt back to his natural position. He responded by winning his third MVP award, a record for third basemen, with a league leading 37 home runs and 119 RBIs.
Injuries to Schmidt's rotator cuff caused him to miss the last month and a half of the 1988 season. He returned healthy for the 1989 season, however, after a poor start, Schmidt suddenly chose to announce his retirement in San Diego, on May 29. He demonstrated little emotion on the field, and was known as "Captain Cool" by many in Philadelphia sports circles, however, Schmidt surprised many with an emotional, and occasionally tearful, retirement speech. His last game was May 28, 1989, against the San Francisco Giants.
Despite his poor start and subsequent retirement, fans again voted Schmidt to the NL All-Star team. He decided not to play, but he did participate in the game's opening ceremony.