MVP Profile: Mike Schmidt, 1986

Third Baseman, Philadelphia Phillies

Age:  37 (Sept. 27)

14^th season with Phillies

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 195 

Prior to 1986:

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Schmidt starred in football as well as baseball at Fairview High School. Knee injuries in high school narrowed his focus to baseball and he became a two-time All-American at Ohio University, where he had gone to study architecture. A shortstop who produced a .640 career slugging percentage in college, he was chosen by the Phillies in the second round of the 1971 amateur draft. Starting off at Reading of the Class AA Eastern League, Schmidt batted a mere .211 with 8 home runs and 31 RBIs over the course of 74 games in ’71. Promoted to the Eugene Emeralds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1972, Schmidt played primarily at second and third base and his average jumped to .291 with 26 home runs and 91 RBIs. He was chosen as second baseman on the PCL All-Star team and received a late-season call-up to the Phillies where he hit his first major league home run. The Phillies, rebuilding with youth, opened a spot in the lineup for Schmidt in 1973 by trading third baseman Don Money. Schmidt proved to be capable at third and showed off his power potential with 18 home runs but batted an anemic .196 and struck out 136 times. He improved to .282 with a league-leading 36 home runs and .546 slugging percentage in 1974. He also compiled 116 RBIs and was an All-Star for the first time. Schmidt followed up in 1975 by again topping the NL in home runs with 38, to go along with 95 RBIs, a .249 average, .523 slugging percentage, and 29 stolen bases. He also led the league in batter strikeouts (180) for the second straight year, but also was second in assists by a third baseman with 368 and third in putouts (132). The Phillies, who contended in ’75, won the AL East in 1976 and Schmidt contributed another 38 home runs, including a record-tying four in a wild ten-inning, 18-16 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. In addition to leading the NL in homers for the third year in a row, he also led in total bases (306) while hitting .262 with 107 RBIs and a .524 slugging percentage. “Schmitty” or “Captain Cool” due to his calm and typically unemotional demeanor, also received his first Gold Glove for his play at third base. Philadelphia went quietly in the NLCS vs. Cincinnati, but Schmidt hit .308 and drove in two runs. He remained productive in 1977 although his 38 home runs failed to lead the league. But he batted .274 with 101 RBIs and a .574 slugging percentage. Hindered by a hamstring injury during 1978, Schmidt had a lesser season at bat, hitting .251 with only 21 home runs and 78 RBIs, although defensively he still received another Gold Glove. He rebounded in 1979 by batting .253 with 45 home runs, 114 RBIs, a .564 slugging percentage, and drawing a league-high 120 walks. Through his first seven years with the Phillies, Schmidt had been a four-time All-Star who led the NL in home runs three times and received four Gold Gloves. Following a down year in 1979, the Phillies returned to the top of the NL East and went on to win the first World Series title in team history in 1980, and Schmidt was a big part of it, leading the NL in home runs (48), RBIs (121), slugging (.624), and total bases (342) while also hitting .286 with 104 runs scored, earning league MVP recognition for the first time. He was also MVP of the World Series victory over the Kansas City Royals, batting .381 with two home runs and 7 RBIs in the six games. Schmidt followed up with another MVP year during the strike-shortened 1981 season as he batted .316 with a NL-high 31 home runs, 91 RBIs, 78 runs scored, 73 walks drawn, a .435 OBP, a .644 slugging percentage, and 228 total bases. The Phillies reached the postseason but fell to Montreal in the first round. Hampered by various injuries in 1982, Schmidt hit .280 with 35 home runs and 87 RBIs, leading the NL in walks drawn (107), OBP (.403), and slugging percentage (.547). Philadelphia returned to the top of the NL East in 1983 and Schmidt won the NL home run crown with 40, while hitting .255 with 109 RBIs. His .399 on-base percentage also topped the league as did his 128 bases on balls and 148 batter strikeouts. The Phillies won the pennant but lost the World Series. The star third baseman placed third in league MVP balloting. In 1984 he tied Atlanta’s Dale Murphy for the league lead in home runs with 36 while topping the circuit along with Montreal’s Gary Carter in RBIs with 106 while batting .277. During the 1985 season Schmidt was shifted to first base in an effort to reduce wear and extend his career. Following a slow start at the plate, he again hit .277, with 33 home runs and 93 RBIs. He adapted well defensively at first base.

1986 Season Summary

Appeared in 160 games

3B – 124, 1B – 35, PH – 8

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 657 [9]

At Bats – 552

Runs – 97 [3, tied with Eric Davis]

Hits – 160 [13]

Doubles – 29

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 37 [1]

RBI – 119 [1]

Bases on Balls – 89 [2]

Int. BB – 25 [1]

Strikeouts – 84

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .290 [9, tied with Mitch Webster]

OBP - .390 [3, tied with Steve Sax]

Slugging Pct. - .547 [1]

Total Bases – 302 [2]

GDP – 8

Hit by Pitches – 7 [5]

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 9 [4, tied with Darryl Strawberry, Glenn Wilson & Kevin McReynolds]

 

League-leading home runs were +6 ahead of runners-up Glenn Davis & Dave Parker

League-leading RBIs were +3 ahead of runner-up Dave Parker

League-leading int. bases on balls drawn were +2 ahead of runner-up Chili Davis

League-leading slugging percentage was +.040 ahead of runner-up Darryl Strawberry

Midseason snapshot: HR - 19, RBI - 66, AVG - .285, SLG - .533, OBP – .366

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 7 AB) vs. NY Mets 4/12 – 14 innings

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 20

HR on road – 17

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 3 AB) at Pittsburgh 4/24, (in 5 AB) at Houston 7/13 – 11 innings, (in 5 AB) at Chi. Cubs 9/10

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Pittsburgh 4/24, vs. Houston 4/29, at Houston 7/13 – 11 innings, at Chi. Cubs 9/9 – 10 innings

Pinch-hitting – 2 for 8 (.250) with 1 R & 1 RBI

Fielding (3B)

Chances – 304

Put Outs – 78

Assists – 220

Errors – 6

DP – 27

Pct. - .980

 

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star (Started for NL at 3B)

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Mike Schmidt, Phila.: 287 points - 15 of 24 first place votes, 85% share

Glenn Davis, Hou.: 231 points – 6 first place votes, 69% share

Gary Carter, NYM: 181 points – 1 first place vote, 54% share

Keith Hernandez, NYM: 179 points – 2 first place votes, 53% share

Dave Parker, Cin.: 144 pts. – 43% share

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Phillies went 86-75 to finish second in the NL Eastern Division, 21.5 games behind the division-winning New York Mets, while leading the league in batter strikeouts (1154). The Phillies were placed in a deep hole by a 15-24 start but were 42-43 at the All-Star break. A good second half put them second to the Mets, the runaway NL East winners. Schmidt, whose batting production remained potent started the season at first base but was shifted back to third.

Aftermath of ‘86:

Schmidt had one last big season in 1987, hitting .293 with 35 home runs and 113 RBIs. Various ailments limited Schmidt to 108 games in 1988, in which he produced 12 home runs, 62 RBIs, and a .249 batting average. At the end of May in 1989, while struggling to come back from surgery for a torn rotator cuff, Schmidt retired. Fans still voted him to the All-Star Game which he appeared at as a uniformed non-participant. For his career, spent entirely with the Phillies, Schmidt batted .267 with 2234 hits that included 408 doubles, 59 triples, and 548 home runs. He scored 1506 runs and compiled 1595 RBIs, 174 stolen bases, and drew 1507 walks. He had a career on-base percentage of .380 and a .527 slugging percentage. Schmidt hit over 30 home runs in 13 seasons, reached 40 three times, and led the NL on eight occasions. Appearing in 36 postseason games he hit .236 with 4 home runs and 16 RBIs. A 12-time All-Star, Schmidt received 10 Gold Gloves for his fielding prowess at third base, six Silver Slugger awards, and finished in the top 10 in league MVP voting nine times. The Phillies retired his #20 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995. A statue has been erected in his honor outside of Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.