Highlighted Year: Bob Schmidt, 1958

Catcher, San Francisco Giants

Age:  25 (April 22)

1^st season with Giants

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 205 

Prior to 1958:

A St. Louis native, Schmidt was signed by the New York Giants in 1951. Initially assigned to Lenoir of the Class D Carolina League, the 18-year-old backstop appeared in 50 games and batted .284 with 11 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .363 on-base percentage. Advancing to Oshkosh of the Class D Wisconsin State League in 1952, his batting average dropped to .248 and he hit 17 doubles, 11 home runs, 73 RBIs, and a .342 OBP. Schmidt missed the next two seasons due to military service. Upon his return to the minors in 1955, he played for Danville of the Class B Carolina League and batted .265 with 29 doubles, 14 home runs, 69 RBIs, and a .315 OBP. Moving up to the Dallas Eagles of the Class AA Texas League in 1956, Schmidt hit .283 with 17 doubles, 13 home runs, 66 RBIs, a .364 OBP, and a .445 slugging percentage. In 1957 he moved on to the Minneapolis Millers of the Class AAA American Association and batted .262 with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs, a .313 OBP, and a .438 slugging percentage. Making it to the relocated Giants in 1958, he split the catching duties with Valmy Thomas.

1958 Season Summary

Appeared in 127 games

C – 123, PH – 7

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 432

At Bats – 393

Runs – 46

Hits – 96

Doubles – 20

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 14

RBI – 54

Bases on Balls – 33

Int. BB – 5

Strikeouts – 59

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 1

Average - .244

OBP - .306

Slugging Pct. - .412

Total Bases – 162

GDP – 19 [4, tied with Frank Thomas & Stan Musial]

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 2 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 12, HR - 12, RBI - 32, AVG - .265, OBP - .329

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 6 AB) at LA Dodgers 5/13

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

HR at home – 8

HR on road – 6

Most home runs, game – 1 on fourteen occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. LA Dodgers 8/31

Pinch-hitting – 2 for 6 (.333) with 1 HR, 1 RBI & 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 682

Put Outs – 616

Assists – 54

Errors – 12

Passed Balls – 3

DP – 10

Pct. - .982

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Giants went 80-74 in their first San Francisco season to finish third in the NL, 12 games behind the pennant-winning Milwaukee Braves while leading the league in runs scored (727), doubles (250) and RBIs (682). The Giants got off to a strong start and were in first place for all but two days from May 18 to June 10. They remained close to the top and were last in first on July 29. They dropped into third place to stay during a 14-17 August and drew a total of 1,272,625 fans to their temporary home at Seals Stadium, nearly doubling the attendance from their last year at New York’s Polo Grounds. Schmidt had a strong first half as a hitter. A highlight occurred when he and outfielder Hank Sauer became the first players in NL history to hit back-to-back pinch home runs in a game against the Braves.

Aftermath of 1958:

In 1959, now sharing the catching duties with Hobie Landrith and Jim Hegan, Schmidt’s offensive production dropped to .243 with 7 doubles, 5 home runs, 20 RBIs, and a .296 OBP. In 1960, he saw the most action behind the plate for the Giants and hit a respectable .267 with 8 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .317 OBP. Early in the 1961 season he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds as part of the deal for veteran catcher Ed Bailey. Hindered by a knee injury, Schmidt was limited to a total of 29 games and batted .132 with one home run, 5 RBIs, and a .212 OBP. In the offseason, he was dealt again, this time to the Washington Senators. Splitting time at catcher with Ken Retzer in 1962, Schmidt appeared in 88 games and hit .242 with 14 doubles, 10 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .281 OBP, while leading all AL catchers in fielding percentage (.987). Purchased by the New York Yankees in May of 1963, he was assigned to Richmond of the Class AAA International League where he batted .245 with 10 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .321 OBP. Back with Richmond in 1964, Schmidt hit .254 with 10 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .306 OBP.  He started the 1965 season with the Yankees, platooning with Johnny Blanchard in place of injured starting catcher Elston Howard. In June he was sent down to the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League to make room for the up-and-coming catcher Jake Gibbs, which marked the end of his major league career. His 1965 statistics with the Yankees were a batting average of .250 with a home run, 3 RBIs, and a .302 OBP. With Toledo he hit .294 with 6 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .357 OBP. Schmidt played one more season with Toledo in 1966 before ending his playing career. For his major league career, he batted .243 with 317 hits that included 55 doubles, 4 triples, and 39 home runs. He scored 133 runs and compiled 150 RBIs, a .298 OBP, and a .381 slugging percentage. With the Giants he batted .252 with 233 hits, 94 runs scored, 39 doubles, 4 triples, 27 home runs, 112 RBIs, a .307 OBP, and a .391 slugging percentage. He had no World Series appearances and his 1958 All-Star selection was his only one. Following his playing career, Schmidt went into construction and died in 2015 at age 82.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.