Mike Schmidt(VI)
In 1949, Mike Schmidt was born in Dayton, Ohio. In 1972, he became a
third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. At the start of his
career, he was not very good, but, starting in 1974, he could be called
a decent player. In 1976, he hit four home runs in a game at Wrigley
Field in Chicago against the Cubs. In that stadium, he would hit 50
homers. In '79 he broke the Phillies franchise record for home runs in
a season, and the all-time record in '80, when the Phillies won the
world series, he surpassed his previous years' homer mark, won the MVP
award, a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger for the best offensive and
defensive third baseman in the N.L., and also won World Series MVP
award. He again won the MVP in '81, and in '86. In 1987, he hit his
500th home run, and retired the next year at 548 homers, 1,595 RBIs,
and over 2,000 hits. Even though he retired before the all-star game
and didn't have a good season, the fans voted him the all-star starting
third baseman. Of course, he did not play.
