Born: Dayton, O., 9/27/1949
B-R, T-R... 6'2", 203 lbs
In 1980, Mike Schmidt had what was perhaps the greatest season in his career. It was definitely one in which he embarked on the road to Cooperstown as one of the greatest third baseman in the history of the game. Included in his superstar season was both the NL and World Series MVP, as well as leading the league in home runs and RBIs.
Mike Schmidt helped assure the Phils' division title with what I believe is the greatest moment in Phillies history. In the top of the 10th inning, Schmidt hit a 2-0 Stan Bahnsen pitch deep into the left field stands at Montreal's Olympic Stadium that catapulted the Phillies to a clinching 6-4 win over the Expos. Hitting only .208 in the playoffs, Schmidt again proved in the World Series that he was definitely the MVP of the team and league, hitting .381 with 2 home runs.
Mike Schmidt HOF Biography
Mike Schmidt's 500th Home Run
The Greatest 3rd Baseman of the Century
1980 Statistics
|
|
Games |
Hits |
HR |
RBI |
Avg. |
|
1980 |
150 |
157 |
48 |
121 |
.286 |
|
LCS |
5 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
.208 |
|
WS |
6 |
8 |
2 |
7 |
.381 |
Lifetime Statistics
|
Year |
Team |
AB |
Runs |
Hits |
HR |
RBI |
Avg. |
|
1972 |
Phillies |
34 |
2 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
.206 |
|
1973 |
Phillies |
367 |
43 |
72 |
18 |
52 |
.196 |
|
1974 |
Phillies |
568 |
108 |
160 |
36 |
106 |
.282 |
|
1975 |
Phillies |
562 |
93 |
140 |
38 |
101 |
.249 |
|
1976 |
Phillies |
584 |
112 |
153 |
38 |
107 |
.262 |
|
1977 |
Phillies |
544 |
114 |
149 |
38 |
101 |
.274 |
|
1978 |
Phillies |
513 |
93 |
128 |
21 |
78 |
.251 |
|
1979 |
Phillies |
541 |
109 |
137 |
45 |
114 |
.255 |
|
1980 |
Phillies |
548 |
104 |
157 |
48 |
121 |
.286 |
|
1981 |
Phillies |
354 |
78 |
112 |
31 |
91 |
.316 |
|
1982 |
Phillies |
514 |
108 |
144 |
35 |
87 |
.280 |
|
1983 |
Phillies |
534 |
104 |
136 |
40 |
109 |
.255 |
|
1984 |
Phillies |
528 |
93 |
146 |
36 |
106 |
.277 |
|
1985 |
Phillies |
549 |
89 |
152 |
33 |
93 |
.277 |
|
1986 |
Phillies |
552 |
97 |
160 |
37 |
119 |
.290 |
|
1987 |
Phillies |
522 |
88 |
153 |
35 |
113 |
.293 |
|
1988 |
Phillies |
390 |
52 |
97 |
12 |
62 |
.249 |
|
1989 |
Phillies |
148 |
19 |
30 |
6 |
28 |
.203 |
|
TOTALS |
|
8352 |
1506 |
2234 |
548 |
1595 |
.267 |
Phillies Publications
From The Phillies 1980 Media Guide
How Obtained: Phillies No. 2 pick in the 1971 free agent draft; signed by Tony Lucadello.
1979 Season: Set a Phillies one season HR mark with 45 and was second in the NL to Dave Kingman (48)... His 20 game-winning RBI and 120 walks were tops in the league... Tied an NL record, Most Home Runs, Five Consecutive Games (1+ HR each game)- 7 between July 6-10 including four consecutive HR (1 on July 6- 3 on July 7)... The four consecutive HR tied a major league record and was the second time in his career that he had hit four straight... Finished second to Kingman in slugging percentage (.613 to .564)... Was NL Player of the Month for July when he hit .354 with 16 HR... He homered in every NL park, the first Phillie since Wally Post in 1959... Named to AP, UPI and THE SPORTING NEWS All-Star Teams... Was the NL's top vote getter for the 1979 All-Star Game... Finished second to Baltimore's Brooks Robinson for BASEBALL MAGAZINE'S "Third Baseman of the Decade"... Won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove... Led NL in double plays (36) and was second to Darrell Evans in Total Chances (528-498)... Hit .336 vs. LHP.
Career: Led majors in HR (1974-75-76)... Hit four consecutive HR for the first time on 4/17/76 at Chicago... Has been a member of the NL All-Star Team four times (1974-76-77-79)... Has walked more than 90 times and scored more than 90 runs six straight seasons (1974-79)... Now has 235 career HR, third best on the Phillies all-time list.
Personal/Misc: 1967 Fairview (Dayton) High School Grad... 1971 graduate of Ohio University with a B.A. in Business Administration... Worked with Garry Maddox and Larry Bowa in raising funds for the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic... Participated in ABC Television's Superstars Competition in December... Worked out regularly at Veterans Stadium during the off-season.
From The Phillies 1981 Media Guide:
1980 Season: Had his greatest season culminating in NL and World Series MVP Awards... He is the third Phillies player to win MVP award (Chuck Klein 1932 and Jim Konstanty 1950)... Led major leagues in HR (48) for the fourth time in eight seasons... Broke Eddie Matthews major league record for most HR by a third baseman; Matthews had 47 in 1953... Had 17 game-winning RBI, tying him with Baker and Dawson behind Clark (18) for second best in NL... Had GWRBI in four of last 5 Phillies wins and a total of 7 in Sept/Oct... Led NL in HR (48), RBI (121), Slugging Pct. (.624) and Total Bases (342)... Hit game winning HR in Phils division clincher at Montreal and hit HR in his final four games... Won his fifth straight Gold Glove leading all third basemen in total chances... Led all NL players in All-Star voting as he was selected to the squad for the fifth time; he was not able to start the game because of a hamstring pull... NL Player of the Month for May hitting .305 with 12 HR and 29 RBI... Batted .533 in October (8-15), 4 HR, 6 RBI... Hit 4th career grand slam on 4/22 @ Vet off Mets John Pacella, a game in which he hit 2 HR and drove in 6 runs... Hit 2 HR in a game five times and has homered two times in a game 25 times in his career... Tied modern NL record (since 1900) with 4 HR in month of October... Hit 10 HR vs. Cubs, eight @ Wrigley Field where he now has homered 30 times... His .286 average was 30 points over his lifetime average... AWARDS: NL MVP (BBWAA), NL Player of the Year (THE SPORTING NEWS and UPI)... World Series MVP (Major League Baseball and SPORT MAGAZINE)... National League All-Star Third Baseman (THE SPORTING NEWS and UPI)... Professional Athlete of the Year Award of the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association... Babe Ruth Crown, an award he has won a record five times.
1980 Post-Season: World Series MVP with a .381 average, 2 HR and 7 RBI including the decisive RBI in Game # 6... Struggled during LCS batting just .208.
Career: Twice has hit four consecutive HR, 1st time 4/17/76 @ Chicago, 2nd time, (1 HR on 7/6/79- 3 on 7/7/79)... Tied an NL record, Most HR, Five Consecutive HR (1 + HR each game)- 7 between July 6-10, 1979... Homered in every NL park in 1979, 1st Phillie to accomplish the feat since Wally Post (1959)... Finished second to Brooks Robinson for BASEBALL MAGAZINE's "Third Baseman of the Decade" Award... Was NL's top vote getter for 1979 All-Star Game... During last seven years, he has hit more HR (264) than any other major leaguer; Reggie Jackson is next (221)... Set Phils career record with HR #260 passing Del Ennis... Tied NL record for HR in month of April (11 in April, 1976) and June (14 in June, 1977)... Set NL record for HR in month of July (16 in July, 1979).
Personal/Misc: 1967 Fairview (Dayton) High School Graduate... 1971 graduate of Ohio University with a B.A. in Business Administration... Once again participated and did well in ABC TV's Superstars Competition.
From The 1980 Phillies Yearbook:
- Favorite Color: Blue, maybe green, maybe red
- Favorite Singer/Group: Tim McCarver
- Favorite Song: I like anything I can snap my fingers and tap my toes to
- Favorite City: San Diego and Chicago
- Least Favorite City: New York
- Person You'd Most Like To Meet: Bo Derek or any other 10, my wife Donna excluded, also Sandy Hill from Good Morning America
- Boyhood Idol(s): Pete Rose
- Biggest Turn-On: Hitting a pitcher in the shin with a line drive after being knocked down
- Biggest Turn-Off: Leaving a 10 foot putt for a birdie short
- Favorite Subject in School: Quantitative methods, statistical analysis, gym
- Favorite TV Show: The White Shadow
- Favorite Book: Offensive Baseball by Mike Schmidt
- Person You Most Admire: Wendell Kempton, Head of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
- Greatest Achievement: Hasn't occurred yet
- Most Memorable Moment: The birth of my daughter Jessica
- Hobbies: Golf, tennis, model trains, yardwork
- Toughest Pitcher You've Faced: J.R. Richard