Mike Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a three-time winner of the National League Most Valuable Player award, and he was known for his combination of power hitting and strong defense.
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36 Facts About Mike Schmidt
2.
Mike Schmidt was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 and is widely considered to be the greatest third baseman in baseball history.
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3.
Mike Schmidt led the Ohio Bobcats baseball team to the College World Series in 1970 and was selected as the shortstop for the 1970 College Baseball All-America Team.
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4.
Mike Schmidt was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.
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5.
On June 11,1971, Mike Schmidt was signed by Phillies scout Tony Lucadello, who had followed him since he played Little League Baseball.
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6.
Six days later, Mike Schmidt made his professional debut in an exhibition game between the Phillies and their Double-A affiliate the Reading Phillies in Reading, Pennsylvania.
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7.
Mike Schmidt played the whole game at shortstop for the big-league Phillies, hitting a game-winning home run against his future Reading teammates.
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8.
Mike Schmidt stayed in Reading, spending the rest of the 1971 season at the Double-A level.
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9.
Mike Schmidt spent two seasons in the Phillies' farm system, where he batted.
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10.
Mike Schmidt had a breakout season in 1974, increasing his batting average to.
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11.
Mike Schmidt started the 1976 season by hitting 12 home runs in Philadelphia's first 15 games, including four in one game on April 17, becoming the 10th player in major league history to accomplish that feat.
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12.
In 1977, Mike Schmidt signed a contract with the Phillies that paid him $561,500 per year, making him the highest-paid player in baseball history to that point and the first to surpass $500,000 annually.
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13.
Mike Schmidt led the NL in runs scored, RBIs, total bases and walks, and set personal highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
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14.
In 1983, in celebration of the team's 100th anniversary, Mike Schmidt was voted by fans the greatest player in the history of the franchise.
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15.
Early in the 1985 season, Mike Schmidt agreed to move to first base through the end of the season with Rick Schu assuming third base duties.
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16.
Mike Schmidt responded by winning his third MVP award, a record for third basemen, with a league-leading 37 home runs and 119 RBIs.
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17.
Mike Schmidt decided not to play, but he did participate in the game's opening ceremony in uniform.
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18.
Mike Schmidt is the Phillies' all-time leader in games played, at-bats, plate appearances, runs scored, home runs, RBI, walks, strikeouts, total bases, runs created, sacrifice flies, outs, Adj.
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19.
Mike Schmidt opted, at first, to pursue a more private lifestyle after his career, rather than to become a manager or coach.
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20.
Mike Schmidt has written a number of articles on baseball for CBS and regularly participates in charity golf tournaments.
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21.
That same season, Mike Schmidt was inducted as a member of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame.
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22.
In 1995, Mike Schmidt was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with what was at the time the fourth highest voting percentage ever, 96.
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23.
In 1997, Mike Schmidt was elected as the starting third-baseman by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to the Major League Baseball All-Time Team.
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24.
Mike Schmidt was honored with a statue outside the third-base gate at Citizens Bank Park in 2004.
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25.
On September 27,2006, Mike Schmidt was announced as the Phillies representative for the DHL Hometown Heroes promotion, beating out Steve Carlton, Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts and Chuck Klein as most outstanding player in the Phillies history.
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26.
Mike Schmidt returned to his alma mater, Ohio University, in October 2014 for the retirement of his number 10 by the Ohio University Baseball Team, which he led to the College World Series in 1970.
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27.
On July 14,2015, Mike Schmidt was named one of the Phillies "Franchise Four" as voted by the fans, along with Steve Carlton, Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts.
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28.
Mike Schmidt has publicly expressed his thoughts on various baseball controversies.
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29.
Mike Schmidt has been a vocal advocate for the reinstatement of Pete Rose to baseball.
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30.
In October 2003, Mike Schmidt was named the manager of the Phillies' Single A Florida State League affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers.
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31.
Mike Schmidt managed them for just the 2004 season, then resigned.
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32.
Mike Schmidt provided periodic commentary for ABC during the 1988 NLCS.
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34.
In 2015, Mike Schmidt provided commentary during Saturday home games, creating a "Weekends with Mike Schmidt" format.
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35.
Mike Schmidt returned to NBC Sports Philadelphia as a color commentator during Phillies games in 2022.
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36.
On March 16,2014, Mike Schmidt disclosed that he had battled stage-3 melanoma cancer during the summer of 2013, but that he was now cancer-free.
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