Books and articles about Mike Schmidt

By the time he retired early in the 1989 season, Schmidt had established himself as the best all-around third baseman of all time. He was the NL's premier power hitter in the 1970s and 1980s, failing to hit 30 homers only three times in his 16 full major-league seasons. Schmidt won the NL home run crown a record eight times, led the NL five times in slugging and RBI four, and is seventh on the all-time home run list. He also won eleven Gold Gloves and was named to the same number of All-Star squads.

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Strikeouts were particularly troublesome to Schmidt early in his career, and he retired with the third-highest strikeout total in history. While averaging 150 whiffs over his first four seasons, Schmidt was nicknamed "A-choo!" by teammate Willie Montanez. But once he learned to be more selective at the plate, Schmidt became the consummate all-around ballplayer, hitting for both power and a high on-base average, stealing 15-20 bases per year, and providing stellar defense at third base.

The Phillies drafted Schmidt from Ohio University in the second round of the 1971 draft, and he spent two seasons in the minors before being called up in September 1972. He hit only .196 in his first full season but showed promising power with 18 HR. A season of winter ball in Puerto Rico and following advice from manager Danny Ozark and coach Bobby Wine helped him come into his own in 1974. He doubled his HR total to lead the NL and raised his average almost 100 points. Hitting third ahead of Greg Luzinski, Schmidt still drew 106 walks. He also hit one of the longest singles in ML history that year, crushing a Claude Osteen fastball off a speaker dangling from the roof of the Astrodome, 329 feet from the plate and 117 feet in the air.

Playing with a sprained left shoulder, Schmidt struck out a career-high 180 times in 1975, but still led the NL in home runs and stole 29 bases, also a career high. On July 17, 1976 Schmidt hit four HR in one game at Wrigley Field, as the Phillies rallied from a 13-2 deficit to beat the Cubs 18-16 in 10 innings. He hit his first homer that day off Rick Reuschel, and the fourth off Rick's brother, Paul.

Schmidt was uncomfortable with his new role as team captain in 1978 and suffered an off-year. Pete Rose's arrival in 1979 gave the club an additional spiritual leader, and Schmidt enjoyed a resurgence. 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. He was the runaway choice for MVP in 1980 and took World Series MVP honors as well, with a .381 average and two homers in the Phillies' six-game victory. His double keyed a four-run eighth-inning rally in Game Two that led to a 6-4 win, he homered in a losing cause in Game Three, homered again in Game Five and scored the tying run in the ninth inning, and drove in a pair of runs in the Phillies' final 4-1 win. The 1981 players' strike did not slow him down, as he hit .316 with 31 HR to win his second straight MVP award.

Schmidt cracked the 40-homer and 100-RBI barriers again in 1983 but suffered a miserable postseason, with only one single in 20 at-bats in a World Series loss to the Orioles. That winter he became baseball's highest-paid player, signing for $2.1 million per year, and his next four seasons were typically productive. The Phillies shifted Schmidt to first base in 1985 to allow Rick Schu to play third, but the experiment didn't last the season.

In 1986 he won his third MVP award, despite the Phillies finishing a distant second to the Mets -- over 20 games out. Schmidt batted .290 and led the NL in homers (37) and RBI (119) for the final time that year. In 1987, he hit .293 with 35 HR and 115 RBI. Schmidt suffered the first serious injury of his career in 1988, a rotator cuff problem requiring surgery that forced him to miss the final third of the season. He returned to hit six homers early in 1989, but when his average dipped to .203 in May he retired. Fans elected him to the starting lineup of the NL All-Star team despite his retirement, but he did not play.

Five years after retiring, Schmidt was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association, who awarded him 444 out of 460 possible votes (96.5 percent) and made him only the 31st player to be elected in their first year of eligibility. He joined former teammate Steve Carlton (elected to the Hall the previous year) in Cooperstown. (SG)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 16, 1972: Expo P Balor Moore extends his scoreless-inning streak to 25 before serving up a 7th-inning 3-run home run to lose to the Phillies 3–1. The home run is the first for Phils rookie Mike Schmidt. » April 27, 1974: Randy Jones and the Padres beat the Phillies, 5–2, despite giving up an inside-the-park homer to Mike Schmidt, the first of three in the future Hall of Famer's career. » June 10, 1974: During a 12–0 win over the Astros, Phillie 3B Mike Schmidt hits a ball off the public address speaker hanging from the Astrodome roof, 117 feet up and 300 feet from the plate. Schmidt must settle for a titanic single. Jim Lonborg is the winner. » April 26, 1975: Mike Schmidt wallops two home runs to help give the Phils a 10–9 win over Cincinnati. Schmidt has 11 home runs in April tying the ML record. » August 5, 1975: The first seven Phillies hit safely—good for 15 bases—against Bill Bonham (10–8)and the Cubs, in setting a ML record. No pitcher has ever started a game by allowing seven straight hits. Dave Cash leads off with a single, and Larry Bowa matches it. Garry Maddox homers over the LF fence. Greg Luzinski singles, and Jay Johnstone and Tommy Hutton follow with doubles to make it 5–0. Mike Schmidt then hits his 22nd homer to finally drive Bonham out of the game. His replacement, Ken Crosby (making his ML debut) gives up a single to Johnny Oates for the 8th straight hit. Dick Ruthven lays down a sac bunt for the first out, but three walks, two hits and a balk make it 10–0. As historian Lyle Spatz notes, the Phils last scored 10 runs in a frame on August 13, 1948. Schmidt adds a 2nd homer to help push the final to 135. » April 17, 1976: With the wind blowing out at Wrigley, Mike Schmidt leads a Phils' assault with a single, four consecutive home runs, and eight RBIs to overcome a 12–1 deficit after three innings and beat the Cubs in 10 innings, 18–16. Chicago had tied in the 9th after the Phils took a 15–13 lead. Schmidt hits one homer off Mike Garman, two off Rick Reuschel, and the last, a 2-run homer, off Rick's brother, Paul in the 10th. He's the first National Leaguer in modern times to hit four homers in a row. Tug McGraw, who departs for a pinch hitter after Schmidt's last blow, is the winner, though two more pitchers are needed. The Phils use seven pitchers, including starter Steve Carlton. » December 4, 1976: Aurelio Rodriguez becomes the first American League 3B since 1959 to beat out Brooks Robinson for the Gold Glove Award. Other Newcomers on TSN fielding team include 3B Mike Schmidt, OF Dwight Evans, and C Jim Sundberg, who would combine to win 24 awards. » July 3, 1977: In an 11–7 win over the Padres, Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt hits an inside-the-park homer, the 2nd of his career. He'll hit one more, in 1982. » October 4, 1977: The Phillies score twice in the 9th inning on singles by Bake McBride, Larry Bowa, and Mike Schmidt off Elias Sosa, to beat the Dodgers 7–5 in the opening game of the National League Championship Series. Ron Cey blasts a grand slam for Los Angeles in the 7th, and Greg Luzinski homers for the Phils. » July 19, 1978: Against the Phils, Pete Rose beats out a 9th inning bunt to keep his hit streak alive. It looked dead when Pete was retired in the 8th inning, but the Reds scored four runs to give Rose the chance to hit again. Mike Schmidt can't handle Rose's bunt. The Reds win, 7–2. » May 17, 1979: The wind is really blowing out at Wrigley as the Cubs (6) and the Phillies (5) combine for a ML-record-tying 11 home runs and 97 total bases during a wild 10-inning slugfest won 23–22 by the Phils. Dave Kingman has three home runs and six RBIs for the Cubs, while teammate Bill Buckner has a grand slam and seven RBIs. Mike Schmidt's two home runs include the game-winner in the 10th off Cub relief ace Bruce Sutter. Bob Boone has five RBIs and Larry Bowa five hits. The Phils jump to a 7–0 lead in the 1st and lead 15–6 after three innings, and 21–9 going into the bottom of the 6th but can't hold it. Rawly Eastwick shuts out the Cubs for two frames to win. The two teams combine to have 21 different players score runs and the 2-team total of 47 extra bases on long hits (24-Phi) sets a ML mark for an extra inning game. It is the largest scoring game in the majors since August 25, 1922, when these same two teams met. » July 7, 1979: Mike Schmidt homers in his first three times up for the Phillies, to give him a ML-record-tying four straight over two games. Schmidt flies to the warning track in his next at bat, and the Phils lose 8–6 to the Giants. Schmidt will hit three more home runs in the next three games to tie the National League record of seven home runs in five games. » July 25, 1980: In the first game of a doubleheader split with the Braves, Mike Schmidt hits his 25th and 26th home runs of the season to pass Del Ennis as the Phillies' all-time home run leader with 261. The Phils win, 5–4, then fall, 3–0, to Tommy Boggs. » October 1, 1980: Steve Carlton fires a two hitter and the Phils beat the Cubs, 5–0. Mike Vail's leadoff single in the 8th is the first hit off Carlton. Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski hit back-to-back homers in the 6th, off Dennis Lamp, as the Phils remain a half-game out of first place. » October 4, 1980: Mike Schmidt's 2-run home run in the top of the 11th inning gives Philadelphia a 6–4 win over Montreal, clinching the NL East title for the Phillies. The home run is Schmidt's 48th of the season, breaking Eddie Mathews's single-season record for 3B set in 1953. » October 15, 1980: George Brett is forced out of game two of the World Series in the 6th inning with a severe case of hemorrhoids, and Philadelphia wins 6–4 to take a 2-0 lead. Brett will undergo surgery tomorrow and return for game 3. Mike Schmidt's RBI keys a 4-run rally in the 8th off ace Dan Quisenberry. » October 21, 1980: The Phillies win the first World Championship in their 98-year history by beating the Royals 4–1 in game six of the World Series. Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt is named MVP, hitting .381 with two home runs and seven RBI, while KC's Willie Wilson is the goat, striking out a record 12 times (including the final out of the series with the bases loaded) and hitting only .154. » November 26, 1980: Mike Schmidt is a unanimous choice as National League MVP. The slugging 3B hit .286 with career highs of 48 home runs and 121 RBI. » August 9, 1981: Expos C Gary Carter hits a pair of solo home runs and Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt adds a 2-run shot in the 8th off Rollie Fingers to give the National League a 5–4 win in the All-Star Game. It is the NL's 10th win in a row and 17th in the last 18 games. » August 14, 1981: Mike Schmidt hits his 300th career home run off Mike Scott as Philadelphia beats the Mets 8–4. » September 25, 1981: The Phils drub the Cubs, 9–2, behind Mike Schmidt and Gary Matthews. Mathews drives in five runs while Schmidt adds his 11th homer in his last 12 games at Wrigley. He has hit 33 there. » November 18, 1981: Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt wins his 2nd consecutive National League MVP Award, joining Ernie Banks and Joe Morgan as the only NL players to win the award back-to-back. Schmidt hit .316 with 31 home runs and 91 RBI in the abbreviated season and also led the league in runs and walks. » May 31, 1982: The Phils outbrawl the Reds to win 5–4 in 13 innings. Mario Soto holds the Phils to one hit, while hitting two himself -- Bob Dernier and Mike Schmidt -- on successive pitches in the 6th. In the 7th, Ron Reed plunks Soto, who starts for the mound with his bat. He restrained, but Dave Concepcion steps in landing punches to Reed. All three are tossed and Reds reliever Joe Price allows no hits in the 7th and 8th but is pounded for four runs in the 9th. The Phils plate a run off Bob Shirley in the 13th to win. » August 30, 1982: The Phils split a pair with the Braves, winning 6–1 on Dick Ruthven's 3-hitter, before losing game 2, 11–9. Dale Murphy's home run is Atlanta's only score in the opener. Mike Schmidt has an inside-the-park home run in game 2, the 2nd of three he'll hit. » October 4, 1983: In the NLCS opener, Mike Schmidt's first-inning homer and Al Holland's clutch relief pitching to get out of an 8th-inning bases-loaded jam are enough for Philadelphia to top Los Angeles 1–0. » November 8, 1983: Atlanta's Dale Murphy wins his 2nd consecutive National League MVP Award, joining Ernie Banks, Joe Morgan, and Mike Schmidt, who also accomplished that feat. Murphy hit .302 with 36 home runs, 121 RBI, and 30 SBs this season, and received 21 of a possible 24 first-place votes. » November 19, 1986: Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt wins the National League MVP Award, joining Stan Musial and Roy Campanella as the only 3-time winners. Schmidt led the NL with 37 home runs and 119 RBI. » April 18, 1987: Mike Schmidt hits his 500th career home run, a 3-run shot off Pittsburgh's Don Robinson in the top of the 9th inning to give the Phillies an 8–6 win. Schmidt is the 15th ML player to reach the 500-HR plateau. » June 14, 1987: Mike Schmidt hits three home runs in a game for the 3rd time in his career to lead the Phillies to an 11–6 win over the Expos. His 2nd home run is also his 2,000th career hit, and his 3rd gives him 511 career homers, tying him with Mel Ott on the all-time list. » July 9, 1987: Mike Schmidt hits his 513th career home run off Atlanta's Zane Smith to move past Eddie Mathews and Ernie Banks into 10th place on the all-time list, but the Phillies lose to the Braves 11–6. » August 28, 1987: Mike Schmidt continues to climb baseball's all-time home run list, passing both Ted Williams and Willie McCovey with the 522nd of his career in an 8–1 win over San Diego. » April 27, 1988: Nolan Ryan no-hits the Phillies for 81/3 innings before Mike Schmidt singles and Ryan ends up getting no decision in Houston's eventual 3–2, 10-inning win. Ryan will have five one-hitters with the lone hit coming in the 9th inning. » May 20, 1988: Mike Schmidt hits his 535th career home run to move past Jimmie Foxx into 8th place on the all-time list, but the Phillies lose to San Diego 4–3. » July 14, 1988: Mike Schmidt hits his 537th career home run in Philadelphia's 7–5 loss to Houston, moving past Mickey Mantle into 7th place all-time. » May 29, 1989: Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt, 39, retires. The future Hall of Famer is 7th on the all-time home run list with 548, but was hitting just .203 this season. He will still get elected to the All-Star team, but won't play. » July 6, 1989: Despite having retired on May 29th, Mike Schmidt is elected to start at 3B for the National League in the All-Star Game. A's OF Jose Canseco, who has not played all season because of a wrist injury, is picked to start for the American League, but neither will play in the game. » January 9, 1995: Mike Schmidt is elected to baseball's Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. » July 30, 1995: Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn, Negro League star Leon Day, former National League president William A. Hulbert, and Vic Willis are inducted into the Hall of Fame. » April 28, 1996: Visiting Texas scores four runs in the 10th and holds on for a 5–4 win over the Orioles. Baltimore's Brady Anderson cracks his 11th homer of April, joining Gary Sheffield, who hit his 11th of Friday, Willie Stargell (1971), Graig Nettles (1974), and Mike Schmidt (1976) as the only players to hit that many in the month. » August 23, 2001: Barry Bonds and Shawon Dunston of the San Francisco Giants became just the 12th pair of teammates to hit back-to-back homers as pinch hitters when they go deep in the top of the ninth. Bonds pinch homer is his first since 1989 and snaps a 5–5 tie. It is also his 549th home run, moving him ahead of Mike Schmidt into 8th place. The Giants win, 10-5. » May 23, 2002: At Miller Park, Dodger OF Shawn Green becomes the second player this year to hit four home runs in a game, doing so in LA's 16–3 shellacking of the Brewers. Green goes 6–6 in the contest, scores six runs (both Dodgers records), drives home seven runs, and sets a major league record with 19 total bases. This breaks Joe Adcock's former mark of 18 set in 1954. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, six players have produced 17 or more total bases in a game with the last being Mike Schmidt in 1976. Green is the first player to collect six hits while hitting four homers, and his four homers plus a double ties the National League mark for extra base hits. The Dodgers hit eight homers in the game, another franchise record. Before today's power display, Green had gone 0-for-15, and been benched May 18.