Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Michael Jack Schmidtis an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseballfor the Philadelphia Phillies. Schmidt was a twelve-time All-Star and a three-time winner of the National LeagueMost Valuable Player award, and he was known for his combination of power hitting and strong defense: as a hitter, he compiled 548 home runs and 1,595 runs batted in, and led the NL in home runs eight times and in RBIs four times. As a fielder,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth27 September 1949
CityDayton, OH
CountryUnited States of America
There's a lot of sad elements in that thing. It was sad that Pete bet on baseball. It was sad that Pete thought he could get away with it. It was sad the way he confessed, so to speak. The way the league perceived that he admitted to it was sad, and it's sad now the way baseball is handling it. It truly could be put to bed one way or the other, and I think we all sort of wish that would happen for all the parties.
There's a real possibility of getting buried up there. The mid layer is solid but the layer below that could break down to the ground and rip all the way out. There's a huge possibility for a big slide.
About a year after the Milwaukee meeting, I phoned Bud to ask what was holding up his decision on Pete's reinstatement. Bud confided that he didn't think Pete understood the gravity of his commitment.
There's a 95-percent chance there's no one up there.
This is as early as I've ever seen it get this wild.
This is a big lifestyle change for me,
I think the Baseball Hall of Fame should take a stronger position on a lot of issues,
Gold Gloves are nice to have people mention. They're basically saying you're a pretty good defensive player along with everything else. But I was about the offensive side.
I had more people come to me and say 'It was great to see a player of your caliber treat that honestly and not come out totally against the current players.
He told me that he scouted me at Ohio University, which surprised me. Pat's a fine guy. He called me a couple of times and really rolled out the red carpet.
I feel comfortable that any player from when I played through today is going to find that it's truthful and enlightening. I don't think I cross the line, but I go up to the line a little bit.
They read their sports pages, know their statistics and either root like hell or boo our butts off. I love it. Give me vocal fans, pro or con, over the tourist types who show up in Houston or Montreal and just sit there.
It isn't that hard to get RBI's when you're hitting home runs, you generally get a least one.
I could ask the Phillies to keep me on to add to my statistics, but my love for the game won't let me do that.