Mike Schmidt

Upon graduation from Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967, Schmidt attended Ohio University in Athens, where he joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity.[5] He led the Ohio Bobcats baseball team to the College World Series in 1970[6] and was selected as the shortstop for the 1970 College Baseball All-America Team. Schmidt was drafted by the Phillies in the second round (30th overall) of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.

Schmidt with the Phillies in 1977

Schmidt's plaque on the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame at Citizens Bank Park

On June 11, 1971, Schmidt was signed by Phillies scout Tony Lucadello, who had followed him since he played Little League Baseball.[7] Six days later, Schmidt made his professional debut in an exhibition game between the Phillies and their Double-A affiliate the Reading Phillies in Reading, Pennsylvania. Schmidt played the whole game at shortstop for the big-league Phillies, hitting a game-winning home run against his future Reading teammates.[8] Schmidt stayed in Reading, spending the rest of the 1971 season at the Double-A level. In 1972, he was promoted to the Triple-A Eugene Emeralds of the Pacific Coast League. Along with shortstop and third base, Schmidt also played second base during his time in the minor leagues.

Schmidt spent two seasons in the Phillies' farm system, where he batted .263 with 34 home runs and 122 runs batted in. After playing most of the 1972 season for Triple-A Eugene, he was called up to the Phillies in September and made his major league debut against the New York Mets on September 12.[9] Four days later, in Philadelphia on September 16, Schmidt ended Montreal Expos pitcher Balor Moore's streak of 25 scoreless innings pitched with his first career home run.[10]

Following the 1972 season, the Phillies dealt third baseman Don Money to the Milwaukee Brewers to open a spot for Schmidt in their infield. While he batted only .196 with 136 strikeouts during his first full season in 1973, Schmidt demonstrated his power potential by hitting 18 home runs.

Schmidt had a breakout season in 1974, increasing his batting average to .282 and receiving the first of his twelve All-Star nods.[11] On June 10, in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Schmidt hit a ball off Houston Astros' pitcher Claude Osteen that looked like a sure home run. The ball hit a public address speaker suspended 117 feet above and 329 feet away from home plate, falling into center field. By the ground rules, it remained in play and Schmidt was held to just a single, with the runners on first and second each advancing just one base. It is believed that had the ball not hit the speaker, it would have traveled beyond 500 feet.[12] For the season, Schmidt finished sixth in National League Most Valuable Player balloting as he batted .282 with 116 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 remains a record for third basemen.

Schmidt's batting average hovered below .200 through 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 by hitting 12 home runs in Philadelphia's first 15 games, including four in one game on April 17,[13] becoming the 10th player in major league history to accomplish that feat. For the season, Schmidt drove in 107 runs, 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.

In 1977, Schmidt signed a contract with the Phillies that paid him $561,500 per year (equivalent to $2,510,870 in 2021), making him the highest-paid player in baseball history to that point and the first to surpass $500,000 annually.[14]

The Phillies captured the NL East crown three years in a row; however, they 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 with 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 homers 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.[15] 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.[16] His 48 home runs broke his own team record, and led the National League by a margin of 13 over his nearest competitor. Coupled with a league-leading 121 RBIs, his home runs made Schmidt 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[17] 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. The Phillies beat the Royals in six games to win the first World Series in franchise history, and Schmidt won 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 set personal highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. 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 postseason. 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 much 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, Schmidt was awarded the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. That off-season, Pete Rose left the Phillies as a free agent and signed with the Montreal Expos. With a hole at first base, the Phillies played Tim Corcoran and Len Matuszek in a platoon system during the 1984 season. Neither player provided the offensive spark Rose did, and so a change was in order. Early in the 1985 season, Schmidt agreed to move to first base (starting from late May) through the end of the season with Rick Schu assuming third base duties. The Phillies finished with a record below .500 for the first time since 1974.

In 1986, the Phillies moved outfielder Von Hayes to first base and shifted Schmidt back to third base. He responded by winning his third MVP award, a record for third basemen,[18] with a league-leading 37 home runs and 119 RBIs.

Schmidt homers against the Cincinnati Reds at Veterans Stadium on July 20, 1987

Trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates 6–5 in the top of the ninth inning at Three Rivers Stadium on April 18, 1987, Schmidt hit his 500th career home run, a three-run shot off of Don Robinson. It put the Phillies in front 8–6, and ended up being the game-winner.[19]

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. Although he typically demonstrated little emotion on the field (and was known as "Captain Cool" by many in Philadelphia sports circles), Schmidt surprised many with an emotional, and occasionally tearful, retirement speech. He said in his retirement press conference, ''I left Dayton, Ohio, with two bad knees and a dream of becoming a baseball player; I thank God it came true."[20] His last game was May 28, 1989, against the San Francisco Giants.[21]

Despite his own perceived subpar start and subsequent retirement on May 29, fans once again voted Schmidt to be the starting third baseman for the NL All-Star team. He decided not to play, but he did participate in the game's opening ceremony in uniform.[22]

Starting in 2002, Schmidt works with the Phillies as a hitting coach during each Spring training. In October 2003, Schmidt was named the manager of the Phillies' Single A Florida State League affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers. He managed them for just the 2004 season, then resigned. In 2009, he served as third-base coach for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

In 2001, Schmidt began sponsoring an annual fishing tournament known as the Mike Schmidt Winner's Circle Invitational at Old Bahama Bay in West End, Grand Bahama Island. The first event raised $27,000, and has since raised over $1.5 million for cystic fibrosis.[26]

In 2008, Schmidt released a wine called Mike Schmidt 548 Zinfandel, a reference to his 548 career home runs, with proceeds also going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.[27]

NBC used Schmidt as a guest analyst (Marv Albert served as the pregame host) for Game 1 of the 1989 NLCS. Schmidt subsequently, did on-field reporting throughout the series. Schmidt also provided periodic commentary (albeit, taped prior to the playoffs) for ABC during the 1988 NLCS.

Schmidt spent the 1990 season as a color analyst with the Phillies broadcast team on the now-defunct PRISM network, where he was partnered with play-by-play announcer Jim Barniak, and was known to be very candid and honest with his commentary. From 2014 to 2019, he served as a color analyst for the Phillies.[28] Starting in 2014, he provided commentary during Sunday home games on NBC Sports Philadelphia. In 2015, Schmidt also provided commentary during Saturday home games, creating a "Weekends with Schmidt" format. He returned to NBC Sports Philadelphia as a color commentator during Phillies games in 2022.

On March 16, 2014, Schmidt disclosed that he had battled stage-3 melanoma cancer[29] during the summer of 2013, but that he was now cancer-free.[30]