Phillies Legend Mike Schmidt Fights A Different Battle
Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt has faced a lot of opponents. Last August, after a routine visit to his dermatologist, Schmidt found out that he would be battling for his life; he was diagnosed with Stage Three Skin Cancer. Instead of being a Spring Training Guest instructor for the Phillies, he had to undergo two surgeries, along with radiation and chemotherapy.
In an interview with philly.com, Schmidt told Ryan Lawrence how the experience has changed him:
I had been in chemo-infusion centers sitting in a chair with a needle in my hand with people that are dying all around me. I was hoping I would never see anything like that. But it became normal for me, for over a month.”
Schmidt is, without a doubt, the greatest third baseman in Philadelphia Phillies history. Some consider him the greatest third baseman to ever play in Major League Baseball, and his career statistics certainly make a case for that honor. In 1976, Scmidt hit twelve home runs in the Phillies first fifteen games. Schmidt knocked it out of the park 38 times in 1976, including an amazing four homers in one game on April 17. Schmidt wasn’t just a heavy hitter, he was the definition of poetry in motion at third base. He won the first of his ten, count ’em TEN Golden Glove Awards in 1976 while leading the League with his 38 home runs.
Schmidt cemented his place in Philadelphia Sports history in 1980. With 26 home runs and an MLB leading 126 RBIs, Schmidt was the National League MVP, and led the Phillies to the 1980 National League Championship Series. The Phillies defeated the Houston Astros, and Schmidt and his Phillies were headed to the World Series. Schmidt had been faulted for not being able to handle the pressure in the postseason, but he had the last laugh in the 1980 World Series. He lit up the Kansas City Royals pitchers to hit two home runs, driving in seven runs. His Phillies won the 1980 Crown, and Schmidt was named the MVP to boot.
The Phillies would not win another World Series while Schmidt was a member of the team, but he had a great deal of personal success. He hit his 500th home run on April 18, 1987. He was named to a total of 12 MLB All-Star teams, is the Phillies leader in games played, at-bats, RBIs and home runs, and numerous other categories. He was so beloved by Philadelphia fans that he was voted to the NL All-Star team in 1989 after he announced his retirement. Schmidt was inducted, as expected, into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1995. Scmidt will begin a new broadcast career, as an analyst for the Phillies games on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, beginning with the 2014 season.
