Mike Schmidt

Michael Jack Schmidt hit 548 home runs, won three NL MVP awards, earned 10 Gold Glove Awards, led the league in home runs eight times, and played 18 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies without ever wearing another uniform, a relationship between a player and a city that was complicated from the start and never entirely resolved. Schmidt grew up in Dayton, Ohio, watching the Cincinnati Reds and idolizing Frank Robinson and Johnny Bench, and he brought to Philadelphia a combination of power, defense, and emotional reserve that the fans alternately worshipped and booed. Pete Rose, his teammate during the 1980 championship, summarized the paradox. "To have his body, I'd trade him mine and my wife's, and I'd throw in some cash." At his Hall of Fame induction in 1995, Schmidt spoke directly to the city that argued about him for 18 years. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd do it in Philadelphia. The only thing I'd change would be me." The BBWAA elected him on 96.5 percent of the ballot.

Dayton

Schmidt was born on September 27, 1949, in Dayton. His father Jack ran a drive-in restaurant, and his mother Lois's family operated the Philipps Aquatic Club, a Dayton institution since 1865. At age five, Schmidt climbed a tree and grabbed a live electrical wire carrying 4,000 volts. His mother reported his heart stopped. The fall through tree branches restarted it, leaving only burn marks on his legs. Schmidt played three sports at Fairview High School until knee surgeries ended everything but baseball, walked on at Ohio University as a shortstop, led the Bobcats to the 1970 College World Series, and was drafted in the second round by the Phillies in 1971, one pick after George Brett went to Kansas City.

Schmidt debuted in 1972 and struggled viciously through his first full season in 1973, hitting .196 with 136 strikeouts. The power was obvious (18 home runs) but the contact problems were severe enough to invite the booing that would follow him, in various intensities, for the rest of his career. On April 17, 1976, at Wrigley Field, Schmidt hit four consecutive home runs in an 18-16 Phillies victory over the Cubs, becoming the 10th player in major league history to accomplish the feat. On June 10, 1974, he hit a ball at the Houston Astrodome that struck a speaker 117 feet above the field and 329 feet from home plate; ground rules kept it as a single, though experts estimated it would have traveled beyond 500 feet.

1980

Schmidt's finest season produced the Phillies' first World Series championship in franchise history. He hit 48 home runs (leading the league by 13), drove in 121 runs, and won his first MVP unanimously. In the World Series against Kansas City, he hit .381 with two home runs and seven RBI across six games and won the Series MVP. His grandmother Viola died during the final weeks of the pennant race. In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Schmidt won a second consecutive MVP with a career-best .316 average and 31 home runs, exceeding any other NL player by seven.

Schmidt won a third MVP in 1986, a record for third basemen, after returning to the position from a stint at first base and hitting .290 with 37 home runs and 119 RBI. His 10 Gold Gloves covered nine consecutive years from 1976 through 1984 plus 1986, and Gene Mauch, who managed both Schmidt and Brooks Robinson, assessed the two of them with a diplomat's precision. "Brooks is one of my best buddies, but as good as Brooks was with the bat, you can't compare his bat with Schmidt's. And as good as Schmidt was at third base, and he was good, you can't compare him to Brooks."

On April 18, 1987, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Schmidt hit his 500th home run on a 3-0 pitch off Don Robinson in the ninth inning with two on and two out, turning a 6-5 deficit into an 8-6 lead. Harry Kalas made the call. "Swing and a long drive! There it is, number 500!"

San Diego

On July 1, 1985, after telling a Canadian reporter that Philadelphia fans were "uncontrollable" and "beyond help," Schmidt faced a hostile Veterans Stadium crowd of 23,000. His teammates were afraid to stand near him during pregame. Schmidt grabbed a shoulder-length crimson wig and a pair of Porsche sunglasses from teammates, and when his name was announced and the boos rained down, he sprinted onto the field in disguise. Some of the boos turned to laughter.

Schmidt retired on May 29, 1989, in San Diego during a road trip. He was 39, hitting .203 with six home runs after a 2-for-40 slump, and knew the player he was watching in the mirror wasn't the one who earned the uniform. "Some 18 years ago, I left Dayton, Ohio, with two very bad knees and a dream of becoming a major league baseball player," Schmidt said through tears. "I thank God that dream came true." Despite retiring, fans voted him the starting NL third baseman for the 1989 All-Star Game, the first retired player ever selected. He participated in the opening ceremony in uniform but declined to play.

Schmidt was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in 2013 that spread to his lungs and brain. He survived after surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, and became an advocate for melanoma awareness, partnering with health organizations and persuading the Phillies to install sunblock dispensers at Citizens Bank Park. A statue of Schmidt stands at the third-base gate. "Anytime you think you have the game conquered," he said, "the game will turn around and punch you right in the nose."