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Michael
Jack Schmidt
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Michael Jack
Schmidt was born September 27, 1949 in Dayton, Ohio. He played
his complete professional baseball career for the Philadelphia
Phillies and became the game's
greatest third basemen. With an unparallel blend of power
and defense he slugged 548 home runs,
belting 40 or more long balls in three separate seasons and
hitting over 30 home runs 10 other times. In 1967, Schmidt
joined the Ohio University and became known as the
school's best baseball player. At this level he mostly played as
a shortstop. The Phillies drafted Schmidt from Ohio University
in the second round of the 1971 draft. Before having been
drafted he spent his two seasons in the minor league. His first
full season in 1973 was probably a great disaster for his career
and indeed the worst rookie season ever recorded by a player who
after completing his career became the Baseball Hall of Famer.
In 1974 he proved to be productive and lead the NL in home runs.
The same season he hit one of the longest singles in ML that
slacked from the crown of Astrodome, 329 feet from the plate and
117 feet in the air. For the rest of the 1970s Schmidt performed
extremely well at bat and with the glove, winning two more home
run titles and a succession of Gold Gloves. |
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From 1976 to 1978 he
assisted the poor Phillies to win three back-to-back
division titles. A very powerfully built, tough man, Schmidt
was one of the best contestants of his time. In 1975, he
played with an injured shoulder and incredibly hit a
career-high 180 times. In July 1976 in a playoff against the
Cubs he hit his first homer.
In 1978
he became the captain of the team but found the
responsibility to be pretty inconvenient and suffered an off
year. In 1979 with the arrival of Pete Rose, Schmidt was
relieved and once again came back in his form. He began to
hit the ball to all fields, rather than trying to pull each
pitch over the left-field fence, and recorded the highest
home run totals of his career, 45 in 1979 and 48 in 1980. In
1980, he led the NL to amazing heights. He hit 2 home runs
with a .381 average and won the National League's Most
Valuable Player Award in a unanimous vote. |
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His 48 homers in 1980 are the most ever in a single season by a
third baseman. He was even named the "Sporting News" Player
of the Decade for the 1980s. The Phillies eventually reached the
World Series and for the first time in the history of the team
history rolled on to a victory after defeating Kansas City Royals.
Schmidt became the MVP of the World Series, hitting two homers
and driving in seven runs.
In 1983, Schmidt led the Phillies back to the World Series and broke
the 40-homer and 100-RBI hurdle again. But their overall performance
was miserable since they lost the title in the hands of Baltimore
Orioles. The same season he became the highest-paid ballplayer,
signing for $2.1 million per year. In 1986 Schmidt he won his third
MVP Award though the Phillies did not perform up to the mark. He
created a record for a third baseman after winning his third MVP
honor. He missed most of his 1988 season due to the injuries and
after the 1989 season he decided to retire. Since his retirement,
the team in his honor has retired his jersey #20. He finished his
baseball career. with 548 home runs and 1,595 RBI. He was also named
"Greatest Phillie Ever." In 1995 he became the US Baseball Hall of
Fame inductee. He became only the 31st player to be elected in his
first year of eligibility. |
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