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Mike Schmidt

An Uneasy Fame

Despite the glowing statistics and broken records, Schmidt's years in baseball weren't always easy. He spent his entire career playing for the Phillies, becoming one the best players they ever had. Still, he had an uncomfortable relationship with Phillies fans that effected his personal life. Obsessed with succeeding, Schmidt was quiet, introspective, and superstitious. His focus on the game came at the expense of fun. Looking back Schmidt related to Frank Fitzpatrick, a Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service writer, "There's no question at all that I didn't enjoy my professional life like I wished I would have.… I didn't allow myself to enjoy it because of my obsession for succeeding, my obsession for wanting to be the best."

Schmidt was often criticized in Philadelphia newspapers and by fans for being too sensitive or for not trying hard enough. He was just as likely to be booed by Phillies fans as he was to be cheered. He stopped inviting his family to home games because people in the crowd would yell at them. Schmidt endured the criticism quietly by focusing on his game throughout his career. He told Fitzpatrick about the moment when he finally felt reconciled with Phillies fans, "It was a night at the end of '86, when I passed Lou Gehrig, who had 494 homers, and was getting close to 500. I got a great ovation, and there was something about that night that got me over the hump."

Career Statistics

Yr	Team	AVG	GP	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
EE: Eugene Emeralds (Pacific Coast League, Class AAA); PP: Philadelphia Phillies; RP: Reading Phillies (Eastern League, Class AA).
1971	RP	.211	74	237	27	50	8	31	27	66	3
1972	EE	.291	131	436	80	127	26	91	87	145	6
1972	PP	.206	13	34	2	7	1	3	5	15	0
1973	PP	.196	132	367	43	72	18	52	62	136	8
1974	PP	.282	162	568	108	160	36	116	106	138	23
1975	PP	.249	158	562	93	140	38	95	101	180	29
1976	PP	.262	160	584	112	153	38	107	100	149	14
1977	PP	.274	154	544	114	149	38	101	104	122	15
1978	PP	.251	145	513	93	129	21	78	91	103	19
1979	PP	.253	160	541	109	137	45	114	120	115	9
1980	PP	.286	150	548	104	157	48	121	89	119	12
1981	PP	.316	102	354	78	112	31	91	73	71	12
1982	PP	.280	148	514	108	144	35	87	107	131	14
1983	PP	.255	154	534	104	136	40	109	128	148	7
1984	PP	.277	151	528	93	146	36	106	92	116	5
1985	PP	.277	158	549	89	152	33	93	87	117	1
1986	PP	.290	160	552	97	160	37	119	89	84	1
1987	PP	.293	147	522	88	153	35	113	83	80	2
1988	PP	.251	108	390	52	97	12	62	49	42	3
1989	PP	.203	42	148	19	30	6	28	21	17	0
TOTAL		.267	2404	8352	1506	2234	548	1595	1507	1883	174

It took fourteen years playing in Philadelphia for that reconciliation to arrive. During most of his career he felt uncomfortable with the attention he received from fans. He felt his privacy was invaded, and avoided going out in public as much as possible. If he did appear in public, he would try and disguise himself with hats and sunglasses. That discomfort and fear of the fans lingered even when Schmidt was accepting his 1995 induction to the Hall of Fame. With an estimated 25,000 to 28,000 people in attendance, most of them Phillies fans, Schmidt was worried. He told Jayson Stark in the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, "I was concerned about it. Probably more than anything, I worried about catcalls or some nasty thing called out during some quiet time." Luckily for Schmidt, the fans had nothing but love and appreciation for him and fellow Phillies inductee Richie Ashburn.

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsBaseballMike Schmidt Biography - From Unremarkable To Exceptional, Building A Reputation, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments, An Uneasy Fame - CONTACT INFORMATION