Schmitty hit 4 homers on my birthday in 1976. After that, he became my favorite player of all time, even though I wouldn't be born for another 6 years .
Glasgow DE here!!! I liked the Phillies but I was more of a Baltimore fan, as both my parents were from Maryland and my Dad went to high-school with Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Ripken!!!
Unfortunately Schmidt was done and he knew it. He had his last great season in 1987(he hit his 500th homerun that year) but injuries dogged him in 1988 and the next season he was struggling and the team stunk. He didn't want to be remembered as playing too long so he called it quits.
Claymont, DE. He and Steve Carlton were my favorites. In my life there's BWS (before world series) and AWS (after world series), from 1980 of course. Great teams late 70's early 80's!
7.7 WAR in 1981's strike-shortened season of 1981. 7.7 WAR...in 102 games! That is just unbelievable. Schmidt often played 160+ games during the regular season, so if we extrapolate his 7.7 WAR out to 162 games, this amounts to a full-season WAR of 12.2! What an unbelievable season. What an unbelievable player.
I started following baseball in 1977. Schmidt was a machine. Every year he was top 3 in HRs and RBI and a shockingly good fielder for a big guy. So consistent, year after year. He was inevitable. Imagine Don Mattingly in his prime, but take away 30 batting average points and add 15 HRs. And instead of having a 4-year stretch of greatness like Don, extend it for 12 years.
@@Rockhound6165 The same reason a lot of great players aren't in the Hall, injuries. Specifically back surgery and a degenerative back condition. I'm a Phillies fan and grew up watching Michael Jack, but I'll put Mattingly's 84-87 seasons up there with anybody's. Hell, even after the injury he remained a top notch defensive first basemen, and worked back to being a respectable hitter, but that back injury sapped all of his power.
Mattingly is not a HOF player, Schmidt was. Mattingly was a better fielder and the lifetime batting avg difference is 40 points. That is a lot! Schmidt was a great slugger not a great hitter.!
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 Mattingly was not a definitively better fielder than Schmidt. Schmidt is in the argument for the best defensive third baseman of all time.
I watched 2008 WS G5 Part 2 in San Jose, CA on a pre-scheduled work trip, at a random sports bar, with maybe 10 other people in there, cheering by myself like I was at the game in person. After it was over, the owner comes over and introduces himself. He asks me who is my favorite Phillie. "Mike Schmidt" He expected me to name a current player, but I passed his test even before he asked where I was from. He offered me some champagne and congratulations - and then we talked about how I was a native and life long Phillies fan.
Sandberg was a Phillie and should have never left. Had he stayed, he would have played in the 1983 world series. And maybe him vs cal ripken would have evened out and Schmidt Morgan Carlton etc would have won. Very close world series they could have and should have won.just not the year. They should have won at least 3 or 4 from 76 to 83. They only made 2 pennants and won 1 world title. But played in 7 playoffs.
My favorite baseball player growing up. I chose #20 in honor of Schmitty when I played short and second in HS. That 1980 series against the Expos was epic. I was jumping up and down uncontrollably when Schmidt hit that blast in the late innings. The 5-game series against the Stros was the best series I've ever seen. Better than the series against the Royals for the WS win.
Great job, big thumbs up! Not a Phillies fan and was not for them in the '80 WS . White Sox fan who loved Dick Allen. I always liked Mike Schmidt but after watching this I love the man, where he came from and his charity work currently. What a stud! And I loved what he did to the Chicago northsiders, 4 dingers!
Living in south Philadelphia and only a few blocks from the Veterans stadium got to watch the Phillies a lot and I seen Mike Schmidt break records here . I also seen how he cought flack from the fans and was treated badly by many fans even though he was the heart of the team. I got to see Steve Carlton play against Nolan Ryan, and Pete rose as well and he also broke records here in Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA 🇺🇸 2:05
Not only the greatest Phillie, but hands down, the greatest third baseman of all time. Phenomenal defense, he could rake, and that mustache/ mullet combo in the late 80s is legendary, and he did it at the highest level for nearly 2 decades.
We had season tickets to the Phillies games in 1979, our seats we’re right along the 3rd base line, Schmidt was amazing to watch live and always my favorite player growing up!!
Remember in 1980 the MVP in the AL was George Brett and the MVP in the NL was Mike Schmidt. The two best third baseman in their respective leagues and they both met in the World Series that year.
I wonder if you might do a Reggie Jackson video, also i would love to see Dave Justice. Awesome Job on this one great quality and the suprise guest was a nice touch.
Thanks for the great video! I was a big fan of Mike Schmidt, although I was living in NY during his prime years. He is the best all around third baseman I have ever seen and one of the best position players ever! Although he won 3 MVP awards, it's quite remarkable how low he was in the MVP voting for years in which he led the league in home runs and RBIs! His strike shortened year in 1981 was one of the best all around seasons ever by anyone and really a shame he didn't have a full 162 games to expand on his stats! He was one of a kind!
Brett was awesome! I really enjoyed his swing and loved to watch him play. The year he hit .390 in 1980 he had 118 RBIs in 117 games and the year before he hit 20 triples, insane! @@williamca7067
You mentioned Hank Aaron & Ken Griffey when talking about homers & stolen bases but don’t mention the 🐐 the only player in the 400/400 club & the only player that will ever be in the 500/500 club Mr Barry Bonds. The hate is real..
i was at the 6th game of the World Series in 1980. My brother and I ( Age 19 and 15) got up early and stood in line for six hours for tickets-hoping to get tickets to game 2. They sold out in front of us. So we got tickets to Game 6...assuming the Series wouldn't make it to six games. We were in the 700 Section on the first base side. The stadium exploded on the final out-including fans who were vandalizing seats for souvenirs. It's all a blur now...but I remember the buzz in the air as we exited the Vet. It never occurred to me to even ask my parents to take the day off from school for the parade. I had to go to school! It was amazing to see Schmidt play in the WS...I was happy for the team.
It's crazy how he just basically went MIA. He had potential to beat Barry Bonds, then got hurt and basically was like he never existed all within a decade. Such a shame for what could have been.At least he got a world series ring and an MVP and big fat contract before the quick decline, though. I'm sure the $100 million helps him overcome not being the Home Run king.
@@SconnerStudios yeah as a Phillies fan it was fun to watch while it lasted. That team was special and very fun to watch... there definitely needs to be some kind of video on Howard's rise and fall
@@mrglass5286 Sure I'd love an "autopsy" on how he was murdered by MLB's demands of young players because if he had a good mentor for power hitting and was taken care of better, he might not have hurt his leg. You see it all the time these days, but it really started around when he was in the minors. Half of the players who are in the running for MVP this year won't be playing in 7-8 years from now, wheras 40-50 years ago, they'd not only still be playing 7-8 years from their first MVP, but they'd probably be in the running for MVP 7-8 years later. They need to focus on investing in players instead of going through them in careers that last 4 years. EDIT: I think he hurt his hamstring, don't know why I put arm
He hit the hardest hit I ever saw at old river front stadium. The home run barely cleared the lf wall but the sound the ball made hitting the front facade of the blue seats echoed so loudly. That, and the Crack of the bat I remembered vividly. It was like thunder.
You should do a prime vid on Ichiro. The man’s whole career I guess could count as prime but still the man was ridiculously good and a shoe in as a 1st ballot HOFer
One thing that is never mentioned in any discussion about Schmidt is that he put up these numbers while playing his career in Veterans Stadium. Out of all the multi-purpose ovals MLB used in the 70's - 90's, the Vet had arguably some of the worst Astroturf out there. Philly sports fans will attest to seeing football players careers come to an end due to the turf at the Vet. Most football players obviously don't have an 18 year career (kickers, eh...), but you could argue that Schmidt played the equivalent of 18 football seasons under nightmare conditions. How long could he have played on natural grass? How many more stolen bases did he have in him? How many more doubles and triples? Try this as an off the top, hypothetical career: 20 seasons 1500+ runs 2,500+ hits 500 2B's 50 - 75 3B's 600 HR's 1800 RBI'S 250 SB's Toss in an extra Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, etc., and you might have not just one of the top 20 players of all-time, but maybe even one of the top 15... or even Top Ten. Something to think about...
14:24 that is a 30 year old professional athlete who looks like he's pushing 50...damn the 70's and 80 s were tough. probably all the smog, smoking, drinking, drugs and promiscuity....the game is different now ain't it?
Schmidt is one of the most under appreciated players of all time. He deserves to be said in the same breath as the greats and played the hot corner like no player before and no player after.
Incredible content! As a Ohio University alumni, I can confirm that Mike is still the biggest thing to have ever happened to Athens. Most young people would say it’s Joe Burrow and they still might end up being the case in a decade or two but we’ll see! Can you cover Sammy Sosa?
Watching Schmitty barehand a bouncer to 3rd was a thing of beauty. Unfortunately his inability to field a hot grounder by Davy Lopes in game 3 of the 1977 NLCS cost the Phils the game and eventually the series(even though Lops was out but the ump blew the call). Schmidt did have a cameo on Pink Floyd's The Wall as you can see him in an add for 7-UP in the movie.
Great work, guys. I'm a Philly fan who didn't start watching the game until after he had retired. This video has taught me 95% of what I know about the man. It is wild to see how tough the fans were on him back then, considering how he is revered now. Growing up, all there was to learn about the guy was he was the greatest third baseman of all time. I certainly enjoy hearing him on the broadcast, especially when he's there with Kruk rather than in place of him. He doesn't talk like he's one of the greatest ever. Because of the era, and how I am only able to enjoy his greatness through the recollection of others, I put him right there with Dr. J for Philly folklore. Great stuff. Thanks, guys.
Thank you for the kind words. That’s so great to hear you enjoyed the video! I had a blast making it and learning about Schmidt was such an amazing experience. Truly a remarkable guy and of course one of the greatest this game has ever seen!
Keep up the good work, I love these videos. If you take requests, I would love to see one on Albert Belle in the future. His 1995 50 homer/50 double season is legit one of the most underrated seasons of all time, made even more impressive by it being a strike shortened year. He should've won MVP but lost it because he was such a confrontational dude.
Schmidt was always my favorite player. I watched the Phillies every chance I got. I never remember anything negative about him but then again I was a kid. Baseball was so great in the 70's and 80's. I remember watching Steve Garvey, Nolan Ryan, Bucky Dent, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose. I haven't watched baseball in years but the 1980 Phillies were a thrill for me.
dude made 17,000,000 playing baseball back when that meant something....sadly the only things to spend your money on were all the stuff previously mentioned.
I'm a lifelong Phillies fan. I watched Mike his entire career. Although he had a love -hate relation with the fans, when it really,really mattered he always came through for us.....never moreso than that at bat against I believe Woody Fryman 2outs 9th inning in Montreal. In that "casey at the bat moment" Mike began what ultimately ended the jinx of '64.........that may have been his most important homer ever ....It put us in the playoffs which gave Philly its 1st World Series. His glove was the the best he could field so nonchalantly a ball that Greg Nettles would dive for to get on a hilite film ( Greg was really good too )... Fans didn't always like his 'ultra cool " demeaner but he did live up to the hype.Absolutely the greatest Phillie hands down. Funny thing is in his 1st season he hit .196 with like 16 hRs........but the kept him anyway...LOL
106.8 career WAR is pretty awesome. Schmidt was a power hitter who drew walks, lots of walks, and who played 3rd base very well. He hit plenty of home runs in the days before steroids made a joke out of home run hitting. Schmidt was even more valuable than his reputation during his career, and his reputation was quite good. I was a kid when Eddie Matthews played and he was a great third baseman, but Mike Schmidt was slightly better.
Excited to watch this and nice being dropped on a friday. This is fast becoming one of my favorite channels. Would like to see an insane prime video on Robin Yount or Paul Molitor in the future if possible being I'm from Milwaukee they never really got the attention they deserved as hall of famers. Or a video on Eric Davis the guy who had HOF talent but whose career was hobbled by injuries.
Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate your support of the channel. The players you mention are without a doubt worthy of a video. Hopefully I can get around to all of them in the near future!
@@STONESGAM Yes, Molitor and especially Yount. I think Yount started ss at 17 and led the league in errors with 35 maybe? What he would become. We live in WI and my wife's late father was the VP of marketing and radio for the Brewers. She's met Robin and his wife and has been to a few more games than me before we met, lol!
@@STONESGAM That's so cool! So, I grew up in Illinois, Sox fan but the Brewers were always my 2nd team as I loved the Aaron/Mathews era and then Harvey's Wallbangers. My oldest bro was the Midwest reg mgr for White Hen Pantry and lived in Menomonee Falls. He calls me up one night and asked me if I wanted to go to the Brewers game tomorrow. Well, being it was game 5 of the 1982 playoffs and he had box seats I said, "Of Course!" My wife and I met 5+ yrs ago. Her dad and my bro sadly had since passed. Since her dad was in charge of getting tickets for sponsors, we are 99% sure he got my bro the tickets! But we'll never know by livin only by dyin will tell... We live in Hartland, how bout you? If you come out here to Beer Snobs I'll buy you one! And your dad if he's still with us
Lifetime Phillies fan, and Schmidty was my hero growing up. To this day, hes the greatest third baseman Ive ever seen. Lastly, could you do a video on Steve Garvey being the biggest HOF snub of all time? I see everyone complaining about Pete Rose not being in the Hall, but in my opinion, Steve Garvey is every bit as deserving of being in Cooperstown. MVP, all over the MVP when not winning it, having GREAT playoff numbers, a four time gold glove winner and ten time all star. In an era today where there are more than a few getting into the HOF with better than average careers, its really disgusting that Garvey isnt in, and there should be more people standing up for him.
OMG,was not expecting this,but :34 seconds in all I saw immediately was TALLADEGA NIGHTS and RICKY BOBBY'S DADDY in that movie,damn sorry Mike Schmidt I grew up watching ya,not my fav player but an outstanding one to be sure!!
Why he didn't win the silver slugger in 1985 is a mystery to me. Despite having a similar number of plate appearances as winner Tim Wallach (645 to Wallach's 615), Schmidt had more hits, triples, home runs, and walks while having a higher batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Schmidt had an OPS+ of 149 to Wallach's 114. I'm too young to remember that season, so I don't have an explanation for it.
Since 1974,he and the Bull were my favorite players.But in 1995 I lost all respect for Mike when after his induction at the Hall of fame ,i went down to the village where he was signing autographs.I wanted to get my red bat signed from May of1977 that I got from red bat day at Veterans Stadium. He was charging 25 or 30 I forget for it. Still pisses me off here in 2024.
I just watched the film named "Five night at Freddy's" somehow the main character have the exact same name and that's made me found this amazing document! Very great!
I hated Mike Schmidt.. mainly because he was so good and played for a team I HATE... That and my team had the Walmart generic version of Schmidt, Dave Kingman... At least we didn't have the WISH version of Schmidt.. Gorman Thomas 🤣🤣
Grew up watching the great Phillie and greatest third baseman ever. The reason he finished sixth in 1974 mvp is because look at the players ahead of him. All on teams that finished higher than Schmidt’s third place Phillies. WAR is a joke. Bryce Harper won the 2021 mvp and had a supposedly high “wins above replacement”- yet the Phillies had a better record with the players that replaced him in games he didn’t play. In Schmidt’s early career, the mvp was still looked at as the MOST VALUABLE not the guy with the best stats. As an aside, Phillies fans through the years booed Richie Allen, Mike Schmidt, Ryan Howard and other greats, booed mediocrity and awful teams. Yet now cheer bryce harper even though he so rarely comes through in the clutch and the team has a better record in games he doesn’t play, and Phillies fans are now hoping for wildcard backing into the playoffs. Boy that lousy owner has really lowered fans expectations. Too many Phillies fans of today are an embarrassment to those that came before, those that demanded excellence.
I started watching the Phils in 1975, so all of my earliest baseball memories include Michael Jack on the team. I knew then that he was *really good*, but it wasn't for years that I had enough knowledge of baseball history to realize how great a player he truly was. By the same measure, I also grew up during a time when it was *normal* for the Phils to be a great team. My grandmother was born in Philadelphia in 1915 and was a huge Phillies fan for all of her 82 years. She had a slightly different perspective! The Phils were the first team to reach 10,000 losses and she saw a lot of those. :D
I listened to the four home runs game in 76 and the 23 to 22 game against the cubs a couple years later,while playing catch with my dad in the backyard,if I remember correctly Mike hit 3 homers in the cubs game.the wind was blowing out that day. Harry Kalas was Man.
I was born June 1, 59 I was a teenager living in North Philadelphia. I was lucky enough to watch Mike Schmidt whole career. I saw him play live at the vet a lot. When the Phillies played it wasn't did the Phillies win. It was how many did Schmidt hit today. If you watch his swing his bat he Would never swing as hard as he could. He just made good contact. He let the Speed of the ball from the pitcher. He would hit a 90 something an hour fast ball. And turn it around and with all the speed in the ball and his very very strong 4 arms. The ball would go 4 hundred feet. The greatest 3rd baseman to ever play the game.
Gotta take his fielding with a grain of salt. Yes, he was a very good fielder. Thing is, he played more than half his games on artificial turf. That makes it far easier to field the ball. Why do you think Brooks Robinson was so steller in the 1970 World Series? Well, besides being the best fielding 3B in history, the turf allowed him to make some plays that grass would have prevented. That awesome play throwing out Lee May probably would not have happened in Baltimore. Schmidt totally benefitted from playing on turf. And as a hitter, he played in all those cookie cutter stadiums, which allowed him to hit a lot of just over the fence HR. He struck out far too much and his BA was abysmal.
The Lightning strike must have given him superpowers.. ha ha... Great player! His clutch game winning homer in Montreal in 1980 for the division title is arguably the greatest homer in Phillies history.
The Phillie fans should be embarrassed for giving this guy a hard time. Same with Dick Allen. That's not good. He was the best 3rd baseman of all time. No one was better.
I still feel like he was an underrated player. I guess the average "averages" could be seen as a detriment. People in the 70s didn't care about walk rates sadly, and dude had a high walk rate to give him high OPSs.
Schmidt wanted to fully come back from rotator cuff surgery and prove he still could perform. He proved that he could still play and promptly retired. I er
Can you please do a video on Mark Grace? He was a great and consistent hitter who was overshadowed by more. power hitting first basemen in his day. He led the 90s in hits and doubles along with playing excellent defense. Let's also not forget how he started the Diamondback rally in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series with a single off of the great Mariano Rivera.
Schmidt I think has the most distance between himself and the second best player at his position. Anything else I’ll hear an argument for who was best.
Thomas was basically the Albert Pujols of his day, almost video game like numbers in the first half of his career, followed by a huge drop-off, but held on for a long time.
Although we hate hearing about racial issues in the past, doesn’t make them disappear. It’s great to hear someone of his caliber with heavy media attention opting to be defined also a humanitarian along with his numerous accolades. Loved that u included it in the video!
Schmitty hit 4 homers on my birthday in 1976. After that, he became my favorite player of all time, even though I wouldn't be born for another 6 years .
Love it!!!
That was a really great set up, pay off rug pull sentence construction. Like Mikey Schmitt, well played.
My name is Mike Schmidt, and a former professional baseball player, that’s a cool story, Brother.
I was born 12 days after he did this.
Lifelong Reds fan here; Mike Schmidt is an absolute legend. A total beast with the bat and the glove. Respect.
Mike Schmidt was also instrumental in the origin and proliferation of Franklin batting gloves.
Absolutely Michael Jack designed the classic Franklin batting glove.
I just bought myself a pair and both my boys. No coincidence.
Lol, he sure did.
I grew up in northern Delaware and I still remember when he retired in '89. Everybody was shook up. Mike Schmidt was a big deal in Philly.
Face of the all time franchise!
Glasgow DE here!!! I liked the Phillies but I was more of a Baltimore fan, as both my parents were from Maryland and my Dad went to high-school with Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Ripken!!!
@@blacktooth3336 I grew up in Newark, went to Christiana so you must have been a Dragon lol. Remember the Fleer Billy Ripken bat card? Haha
Unfortunately Schmidt was done and he knew it. He had his last great season in 1987(he hit his 500th homerun that year) but injuries dogged him in 1988 and the next season he was struggling and the team stunk. He didn't want to be remembered as playing too long so he called it quits.
Claymont, DE. He and Steve Carlton were my favorites. In my life there's BWS (before world series) and AWS (after world series), from 1980 of course. Great teams late 70's early 80's!
Day one of asking for Jason Kendall, severally under rated catcher!
7.7 WAR in 1981's strike-shortened season of 1981.
7.7 WAR...in 102 games! That is just unbelievable. Schmidt often played 160+ games during the regular season, so if we extrapolate his 7.7 WAR out to 162 games, this amounts to a full-season WAR of 12.2!
What an unbelievable season. What an unbelievable player.
I started following baseball in 1977. Schmidt was a machine. Every year he was top 3 in HRs and RBI and a shockingly good fielder for a big guy. So consistent, year after year. He was inevitable. Imagine Don Mattingly in his prime, but take away 30 batting average points and add 15 HRs. And instead of having a 4-year stretch of greatness like Don, extend it for 12 years.
Mattingly couldn't carry Schmidt's jock. If he was so great why isn't he in the hall of fame?
@@Rockhound6165 The same reason a lot of great players aren't in the Hall, injuries. Specifically back surgery and a degenerative back condition. I'm a Phillies fan and grew up watching Michael Jack, but I'll put Mattingly's 84-87 seasons up there with anybody's. Hell, even after the injury he remained a top notch defensive first basemen, and worked back to being a respectable hitter, but that back injury sapped all of his power.
Mattingly is not a HOF player, Schmidt was. Mattingly was a better fielder and the lifetime batting avg difference is 40 points. That is a lot! Schmidt was a great slugger not a great hitter.!
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 Mattingly was not a definitively better fielder than Schmidt. Schmidt is in the argument for the best defensive third baseman of all time.
That kind of ends the "Why isn't Mattingly in the Hall?" discussion, doesn't it?
I watched 2008 WS G5 Part 2 in San Jose, CA on a pre-scheduled work trip, at a random sports bar, with maybe 10 other people in there, cheering by myself like I was at the game in person.
After it was over, the owner comes over and introduces himself. He asks me who is my favorite Phillie.
"Mike Schmidt"
He expected me to name a current player, but I passed his test even before he asked where I was from. He offered me some champagne and congratulations - and then we talked about how I was a native and life long Phillies fan.
One of my all times, up there with Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg, and Dave Winfield!
Sandberg was a Phillie and should have never left. Had he stayed, he would have played in the 1983 world series. And maybe him vs cal ripken would have evened out and Schmidt Morgan Carlton etc would have won. Very close world series they could have and should have won.just not the year. They should have won at least 3 or 4 from 76 to 83. They only made 2 pennants and won 1 world title. But played in 7 playoffs.
@@Nolan33177 You know your Baseball don't ya! Those were my 80s players, durin the 90s my faves were Ken Griffey Jr, Ricky Henderson, and Greg Maddux.
My favorite baseball player growing up. I chose #20 in honor of Schmitty when I played short and second in HS. That 1980 series against the Expos was epic. I was jumping up and down uncontrollably when Schmidt hit that blast in the late innings. The 5-game series against the Stros was the best series I've ever seen. Better than the series against the Royals for the WS win.
Great job, big thumbs up! Not a Phillies fan and was not for them in the '80 WS . White Sox fan who loved Dick Allen. I always liked Mike Schmidt but after watching this I love the man, where he came from and his charity work currently. What a stud! And I loved what he did to the Chicago northsiders, 4 dingers!
Watch what he also did in the 23, 22 win over them in 79. Look up Phillies cubs 23 22 game
Living in south Philadelphia and only a few blocks from the Veterans stadium got to watch the Phillies a lot and I seen Mike Schmidt break records here . I also seen how he cought flack from the fans and was treated badly by many fans even though he was the heart of the team. I got to see Steve Carlton play against Nolan Ryan, and Pete rose as well and he also broke records here in Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA 🇺🇸 2:05
To this day Mike is my all-time favorite baseball player. The best I ever saw. 5 tool player
Not only the greatest Phillie, but hands down, the greatest third baseman of all time. Phenomenal defense, he could rake, and that mustache/ mullet combo in the late 80s is legendary, and he did it at the highest level for nearly 2 decades.
We had season tickets to the Phillies games in 1979, our seats we’re right along the 3rd base line, Schmidt was amazing to watch live and always my favorite player growing up!!
this is for MIKE. 👍👍👍👍and I forgive you for beating up my Cub Teams when I was growing up. LOL
Remember in 1980 the MVP in the AL was George Brett and the MVP in the NL was Mike Schmidt. The two best third baseman in their respective leagues and they both met in the World Series that year.
Couldn’t have scripted it any better!
I wonder if you might do a Reggie Jackson video, also i would love to see Dave Justice. Awesome Job on this one great quality and the suprise guest was a nice touch.
Thanks for the great video! I was a big fan of Mike Schmidt, although I was living in NY during his prime years. He is the best all around third baseman I have ever seen and one of the best position players ever! Although he won 3 MVP awards, it's quite remarkable how low he was in the MVP voting for years in which he led the league in home runs and RBIs! His strike shortened year in 1981 was one of the best all around seasons ever by anyone and really a shame he didn't have a full 162 games to expand on his stats! He was one of a kind!
Mike Schmidt certainly great … my guy was George Brett
Brett was awesome! I really enjoyed his swing and loved to watch him play. The year he hit .390 in 1980 he had 118 RBIs in 117 games and the year before he hit 20 triples, insane! @@williamca7067
They definitely don't make'em like they used to! All hail Mike 🙌🏼 🙏 👏 ❤️
You mentioned Hank Aaron & Ken Griffey when talking about homers & stolen bases but don’t mention the 🐐 the only player in the 400/400 club & the only player that will ever be in the 500/500 club Mr Barry Bonds. The hate is real..
Roids
i was at the 6th game of the World Series in 1980. My brother and I ( Age 19 and 15) got up early and stood in line for six hours for tickets-hoping to get tickets to game 2. They sold out in front of us. So we got tickets to Game 6...assuming the Series wouldn't make it to six games.
We were in the 700 Section on the first base side. The stadium exploded on the final out-including fans who were vandalizing seats for souvenirs.
It's all a blur now...but I remember the buzz in the air as we exited the Vet.
It never occurred to me to even ask my parents to take the day off from school for the parade. I had to go to school!
It was amazing to see Schmidt play in the WS...I was happy for the team.
Even though he's a newer Phillie, you should do one on Ryan Howard. He an insane 4-5 year stretch
It's crazy how he just basically went MIA. He had potential to beat Barry Bonds, then got hurt and basically was like he never existed all within a decade. Such a shame for what could have been.At least he got a world series ring and an MVP and big fat contract before the quick decline, though. I'm sure the $100 million helps him overcome not being the Home Run king.
@@SconnerStudios yeah as a Phillies fan it was fun to watch while it lasted. That team was special and very fun to watch... there definitely needs to be some kind of video on Howard's rise and fall
@@mrglass5286 Sure I'd love an "autopsy" on how he was murdered by MLB's demands of young players because if he had a good mentor for power hitting and was taken care of better, he might not have hurt his leg. You see it all the time these days, but it really started around when he was in the minors. Half of the players who are in the running for MVP this year won't be playing in 7-8 years from now, wheras 40-50 years ago, they'd not only still be playing 7-8 years from their first MVP, but they'd probably be in the running for MVP 7-8 years later. They need to focus on investing in players instead of going through them in careers that last 4 years.
EDIT: I think he hurt his hamstring, don't know why I put arm
@@SconnerStudiosit was his achilles tendon. I don’t remember if it was ruptured or torn, but it was one of those.
He hit the hardest hit I ever saw at old river front stadium. The home run barely cleared the lf wall but the sound the ball made hitting the front facade of the blue seats echoed so loudly. That, and the Crack of the bat I remembered vividly. It was like thunder.
Really great video once again!! I love these " insane prime " videos! Thank you so much!👍⚾️
I’m glad you’re enjoying the series!
You're telling me if he had played 150 games in 81 Mike was on pace for over 11 WAR. Unbelievable.
Wild to think about!
You should do a prime vid on Ichiro. The man’s whole career I guess could count as prime but still the man was ridiculously good and a shoe in as a 1st ballot HOFer
That’s so true! The prime is a whole career in itself
One thing that is never mentioned in any discussion about Schmidt is that he put up these numbers while playing his career in Veterans Stadium. Out of all the multi-purpose ovals MLB used in the 70's - 90's, the Vet had arguably some of the worst Astroturf out there. Philly sports fans will attest to seeing football players careers come to an end due to the turf at the Vet. Most football players obviously don't have an 18 year career (kickers, eh...), but you could argue that Schmidt played the equivalent of 18 football seasons under nightmare conditions.
How long could he have played on natural grass? How many more stolen bases did he have in him? How many more doubles and triples?
Try this as an off the top, hypothetical career:
20 seasons
1500+ runs
2,500+ hits
500 2B's
50 - 75 3B's
600 HR's
1800 RBI'S
250 SB's
Toss in an extra Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, etc., and you might have not just one of the top 20 players of all-time, but maybe even one of the top 15... or even Top Ten.
Something to think about...
14:24 that is a 30 year old professional athlete who looks like he's pushing 50...damn the 70's and 80
s were tough. probably all the smog, smoking, drinking, drugs and promiscuity....the game is different now ain't it?
Brooks Robinson was better with the glove but Mike Schmidt hit for more power.
Schmidt is one of the most under appreciated players of all time. He deserves to be said in the same breath as the greats and played the hot corner like no player before and no player after.
Probably the best hitting 3rd baseman but defensively I don't think he was better than Brooks Robinson. That dude was unreal at 3rd base.
I love when you both make a video together! Keep up the awesome work you guys!
Thank you! Hatbilly always brings his A game and it’s a blast to collaborate.
Yo the night guard from Five nights at Freddy’s was a baseball player?.
Greatest 3rd Baseman all time. OU bus trip to the south. Gary. Tommy Tony and Bo would say the same thing.
Incredible content! As a Ohio University alumni, I can confirm that Mike is still the biggest thing to have ever happened to Athens. Most young people would say it’s Joe Burrow and they still might end up being the case in a decade or two but we’ll see! Can you cover Sammy Sosa?
Great video as always! I'd love to see a Pirate next, maybe Willie Stargell.
Watching Schmitty barehand a bouncer to 3rd was a thing of beauty. Unfortunately his inability to field a hot grounder by Davy Lopes in game 3 of the 1977 NLCS cost the Phils the game and eventually the series(even though Lops was out but the ump blew the call). Schmidt did have a cameo on Pink Floyd's The Wall as you can see him in an add for 7-UP in the movie.
Someone PLEASE do the oddity of Vinny Castilla's back to back years of 1996 & 1997. Look it up & you'll know why
Wow! Just looked it up, nearly identical seasons!
I remember Khris Davis hitting .247 in four consecutive seasons.
His contribution to home runs was legendary 🔥🇨🇦🇺🇸
A video about players like Jessee Barfield, Jim Abbott, Chris Sabo Gregg Jeffries would be nice as they were anticipated as phenoms.
The fact that Jim Abbott pitched with 1 hand and threw a no hitter at that makes him a phenom.
I would love to see a video about Jim Thome. Would be gas
Agreed 👍
Fred Lynn, Dwight Evans, and Will Clark would make for great ones
Good to see this. Grew up a Dodger fan. We’re the same age. Best third baseman I’ve ever seen!
Only person close would be George Brett
Brooks Robinson was the best defensive 3rd baseman ever. But I am a huge Mike Schmidt fan as well! Mike Schmidt was extraordinarily awesome!!!!
Great work, guys. I'm a Philly fan who didn't start watching the game until after he had retired. This video has taught me 95% of what I know about the man. It is wild to see how tough the fans were on him back then, considering how he is revered now. Growing up, all there was to learn about the guy was he was the greatest third baseman of all time.
I certainly enjoy hearing him on the broadcast, especially when he's there with Kruk rather than in place of him. He doesn't talk like he's one of the greatest ever.
Because of the era, and how I am only able to enjoy his greatness through the recollection of others, I put him right there with Dr. J for Philly folklore. Great stuff. Thanks, guys.
Thank you for the kind words. That’s so great to hear you enjoyed the video! I had a blast making it and learning about Schmidt was such an amazing experience. Truly a remarkable guy and of course one of the greatest this game has ever seen!
Keep up the good work, I love these videos. If you take requests, I would love to see one on Albert Belle in the future. His 1995 50 homer/50 double season is legit one of the most underrated seasons of all time, made even more impressive by it being a strike shortened year. He should've won MVP but lost it because he was such a confrontational dude.
Thank you! Belle would make for a spicy video, and I’m here for it!
@@Cam23 Thanks for the quick response.
1994 was the strike shortened season not 95.
@@kevinalexander6812 strike carried into ‘95, limited the season in back to back years
I’m now 60 and saw the man 📺🤩❤️👏👏👏👏👏
Another great video, Fred McGriff next!
Schmidt was always my favorite player. I watched the Phillies every chance I got. I never remember anything negative about him but then again I was a kid. Baseball was so great in the 70's and 80's. I remember watching Steve Garvey, Nolan Ryan, Bucky Dent, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose. I haven't watched baseball in years but the 1980 Phillies were a thrill for me.
dude made 17,000,000 playing baseball back when that meant something....sadly the only things to spend your money on were all the stuff previously mentioned.
i just love one team all time great players...Schmidt is one of the best in that category.
Mike Schmidt is the reason I became a Phillies fan.
I'm a lifelong Phillies fan. I watched Mike his entire career. Although he had a love -hate relation with the fans, when it really,really mattered he always came through for us.....never moreso than that at bat against I believe Woody Fryman 2outs 9th inning in Montreal. In that "casey at the bat moment" Mike began what ultimately ended the jinx of '64.........that may have been his most important homer ever ....It put us in the playoffs which gave Philly its 1st World Series. His glove was the the best he could field so nonchalantly a ball that Greg Nettles would dive for to get on a hilite film ( Greg was really good too )... Fans didn't always like his 'ultra cool " demeaner but he did live up to the hype.Absolutely the greatest Phillie hands down. Funny thing is in his 1st season he hit .196 with like 16 hRs........but the kept him anyway...LOL
I always dismissed Schmidt because I was a Boggs fan but now I respect his body of work.
We have to do a former member bash bros for an insane prime video. Say what you will about McGwire, but fuck man, he was a machine
106.8 career WAR is pretty awesome. Schmidt was a power hitter who drew walks, lots of walks, and who played 3rd base very well. He hit plenty of home runs in the days before steroids made a joke out of home run hitting. Schmidt was even more valuable than his reputation during his career, and his reputation was quite good. I was a kid when Eddie Matthews played and he was a great third baseman, but Mike Schmidt was slightly better.
We want Pete rose next dog let’s do this
Pete rose 🌹!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excited to watch this and nice being dropped on a friday. This is fast becoming one of my favorite channels. Would like to see an insane prime video on Robin Yount or Paul Molitor in the future if possible being I'm from Milwaukee they never really got the attention they deserved as hall of famers. Or a video on Eric Davis the guy who had HOF talent but whose career was hobbled by injuries.
Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate your support of the channel. The players you mention are without a doubt worthy of a video. Hopefully I can get around to all of them in the near future!
Thanks. Sounds good. Keep up the great work!
@@STONESGAM Yes, Molitor and especially Yount. I think Yount started ss at 17 and led the league in errors with 35 maybe? What he would become. We live in WI and my wife's late father was the VP of marketing and radio for the Brewers. She's met Robin and his wife and has been to a few more games than me before we met, lol!
@@peteshallcross787 Nice! Yount was my dad's favorite player and he was at his 3000 hit game.
@@STONESGAM That's so cool! So, I grew up in Illinois, Sox fan but the Brewers were always my 2nd team as I loved the Aaron/Mathews era and then Harvey's Wallbangers. My oldest bro was the Midwest reg mgr for White Hen Pantry and lived in Menomonee Falls. He calls me up one night and asked me if I wanted to go to the Brewers game tomorrow. Well, being it was game 5 of the 1982 playoffs and he had box seats I said, "Of Course!"
My wife and I met 5+ yrs ago. Her dad and my bro sadly had since passed. Since her dad was in charge of getting tickets for sponsors, we are 99% sure he got my bro the tickets! But we'll never know by livin only by dyin will tell...
We live in Hartland, how bout you? If you come out here to Beer Snobs I'll buy you one! And your dad if he's still with us
Lifetime Phillies fan, and Schmidty was my hero growing up. To this day, hes the greatest third baseman Ive ever seen.
Lastly, could you do a video on Steve Garvey being the biggest HOF snub of all time? I see everyone complaining about Pete Rose not being in the Hall, but in my opinion, Steve Garvey is every bit as deserving of being in Cooperstown. MVP, all over the MVP when not winning it, having GREAT playoff numbers, a four time gold glove winner and ten time all star. In an era today where there are more than a few getting into the HOF with better than average careers, its really disgusting that Garvey isnt in, and there should be more people standing up for him.
Can you do one on Frank Thomas?
OMG,was not expecting this,but :34 seconds in all I saw immediately was TALLADEGA NIGHTS and RICKY BOBBY'S DADDY in that movie,damn sorry Mike Schmidt I grew up watching ya,not my fav player but an outstanding one to be sure!!
Why he didn't win the silver slugger in 1985 is a mystery to me. Despite having a similar number of plate appearances as winner Tim Wallach (645 to Wallach's 615), Schmidt had more hits, triples, home runs, and walks while having a higher batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Schmidt had an OPS+ of 149 to Wallach's 114. I'm too young to remember that season, so I don't have an explanation for it.
Mike Schmidt was an awesome ball player!
Since 1974,he and the Bull were my favorite players.But in 1995 I lost all respect for Mike when after his induction at the Hall of fame ,i went down to the village where he was signing autographs.I wanted to get my red bat signed from May of1977 that I got from red bat day at Veterans Stadium. He was charging 25 or 30 I forget for it. Still pisses me off here in 2024.
I just watched the film named "Five night at Freddy's" somehow the main character have the exact same name and that's made me found this amazing document! Very great!
I hated Mike Schmidt.. mainly because he was so good and played for a team I HATE... That and my team had the Walmart generic version of Schmidt, Dave Kingman...
At least we didn't have the WISH version of Schmidt.. Gorman Thomas 🤣🤣
Grew up watching the great Phillie and greatest third baseman ever.
The reason he finished sixth in 1974 mvp is because look at the players ahead of him. All on teams that finished higher than Schmidt’s third place Phillies.
WAR is a joke. Bryce Harper won the 2021 mvp and had a supposedly high “wins above replacement”- yet the Phillies had a better record with the players that replaced him in games he didn’t play.
In Schmidt’s early career, the mvp was still looked at as the MOST VALUABLE not the guy with the best stats.
As an aside, Phillies fans through the years booed Richie Allen, Mike Schmidt, Ryan Howard and other greats, booed mediocrity and awful teams. Yet now cheer bryce harper even though he so rarely comes through in the clutch and the team has a better record in games he doesn’t play, and Phillies fans are now hoping for wildcard backing into the playoffs. Boy that lousy owner has really lowered fans expectations. Too many Phillies fans of today are an embarrassment to those that came before, those that demanded excellence.
Well if your doing third baseman, might as well do George Brett
I started watching the Phils in 1975, so all of my earliest baseball memories include Michael Jack on the team. I knew then that he was *really good*, but it wasn't for years that I had enough knowledge of baseball history to realize how great a player he truly was.
By the same measure, I also grew up during a time when it was *normal* for the Phils to be a great team. My grandmother was born in Philadelphia in 1915 and was a huge Phillies fan for all of her 82 years. She had a slightly different perspective! The Phils were the first team to reach 10,000 losses and she saw a lot of those. :D
I listened to the four home runs game in 76 and the 23 to 22 game against the cubs a couple years later,while playing catch with my dad in the backyard,if I remember correctly Mike hit 3 homers in the cubs game.the wind was blowing out that day. Harry Kalas was Man.
I was born June 1, 59 I was a teenager living in North Philadelphia. I was lucky enough to watch Mike Schmidt whole career. I saw him play live at the vet a lot. When the Phillies played it wasn't did the Phillies win. It was how many did Schmidt hit today. If you watch his swing his bat he Would never swing as hard as he could. He just made good contact. He let the Speed of the ball from the pitcher. He would hit a 90 something an hour fast ball. And turn it around and with all the speed in the ball and his very very strong 4 arms. The ball would go 4 hundred feet. The greatest 3rd baseman to ever play the game.
Gotta take his fielding with a grain of salt. Yes, he was a very good fielder. Thing is, he played more than half his games on artificial turf. That makes it far easier to field the ball. Why do you think Brooks Robinson was so steller in the 1970 World Series? Well, besides being the best fielding 3B in history, the turf allowed him to make some plays that grass would have prevented. That awesome play throwing out Lee May probably would not have happened in Baltimore. Schmidt totally benefitted from playing on turf. And as a hitter, he played in all those cookie cutter stadiums, which allowed him to hit a lot of just over the fence HR. He struck out far too much and his BA was abysmal.
The Lightning strike must have given him superpowers.. ha ha... Great player! His clutch game winning homer in Montreal in 1980 for the division title is arguably the greatest homer in Phillies history.
When it comes to my all time best team. My 3ed baseman is down to him and /or Pete Rose . Brett would be my 3rd choice. Followed by Boggs.
I read Dick Allen's book ,many moons ago, and Dick said Mike Schmidt would be the only white guy on his "Soul" team.
When you’re keeping it hundo to the onedo the might call you mike schmidt
Would like to see don mattingly
I made an insane prime video on him!
The INSANE Prime of Don Mattingly
ua-cam.com/video/P4Du4u7nglQ/v-deo.html
Led NL in HR 7 different seasons. 1 person topped that in the American league. Babe Ruth. Pretty good company.
Schmidty. Micheal Jack Schmidt. Great ol 20. 4evr Phillies Captain.
The Phillie fans should be embarrassed for giving this guy a hard time. Same with Dick Allen. That's not good. He was the best 3rd baseman of all time. No one was better.
I still feel like he was an underrated player. I guess the average "averages" could be seen as a detriment. People in the 70s didn't care about walk rates sadly, and dude had a high walk rate to give him high OPSs.
I remember him with the Eugene Emeralds... Coming to Portland and hitting the ball out on 18th street along with Greg Luzinski!
I'm a White Sox fan but my favorite baseball player of all time is Mike Schmidt
And now he spends his Sunday afternoons in the booth with T-Mac and Kruk, those three together is always a dumpster fire in the best way🤣💕
Schmidt wanted to fully come back from rotator cuff surgery and prove he still could perform. He proved that he could still play and promptly retired. I er
I love Mike Schmidt. He was a class act and a great ball player. I remember as a kid debating who was better him or Brett. Man I love Baseball
Make one on Chipper Jones!
The biggest canard going was that Schmidt hit 'only' .267 for his career.
Greatest third baseman ever.
Can you please do a video on Mark Grace? He was a great and consistent hitter who was overshadowed by more. power hitting first basemen in his day. He led the 90s in hits and doubles along with playing excellent defense. Let's also not forget how he started the Diamondback rally in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series with a single off of the great Mariano Rivera.
Will clark would compliment mark grace, they kinda have similar stats.
@@jmillshobbies6344, that 1989 was a showcase for both of them. That would be totally cool.
Schmidt I think has the most distance between himself and the second best player at his position. Anything else I’ll hear an argument for who was best.
Mike schmidt's top 5 seasons were: 1981, 1974, 1980, 1977, 1982 in that order.
Do Carlos DelGado. May be the best switch hitter ever. Over Mantle and Eddie Murray
Is it possible that we can either see the big hurt Frank Thomas or Dick Allen? Mike Schmidt's teammate
Please do a player rarely talked about; Frank “the big hurt” Thomas??
Dante Bichette, Ron Gant, Kevin Mitchell, Will Clark, quite a few that would be interesting. Not on Frank Thomas's HoF level of course
Thomas was basically the Albert Pujols of his day, almost video game like numbers in the first half of his career, followed by a huge drop-off, but held on for a long time.
He was the centerpiece of the years that I cared about baseball. Late ‘70s Phillies were fun.
Although we hate hearing about racial issues in the past, doesn’t make them disappear. It’s great to hear someone of his caliber with heavy media attention opting to be defined also a humanitarian along with his numerous accolades.
Loved that u included it in the video!
You’re absolutely right ignoring it doesn’t make it disappear! Have to acknowledge, learn, and move forward
It was the FRO. I loved watching him power around the bases with his hair blowing in the wind. Go M's
Michael Jack Schmidt is my favorite baseball player of all time. He was a true Cubs killer.
Mike Schmidt never swung through a ball with intent to kill in his entire career...
Let that sink in. 🐐
Not the nimmo diss 💀💀💀
😂😂😂