Philadelphia Phillies #20 Retired
Michael Jack Schmidt was born on September 27, 1949, in Dayton, Ohio. Mike Schmidt grew up a versatile athlete with strong work ethics, and what some people would later deign a “scientific” approach to hitting and fielding. Schmidt graduated from Fairview High School in 1967, and enrolled at the Ohio University in Athens. He quickly established himself as the best player on the team and played shortstop primarily. Schmidt was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft, and would remain with the Phillies for the next eighteen years.
On May 26, 1990 the Philadelphia Phillies retired Schmidt’s uniform and later erected a statue of him outside the third base gate. In 1995 Mike Schmidt was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. In 1999 The Sporting News ranked Schmidt 28th on its list of the top 100 Greatest Baseball Players, making him the highest-ranking third baseman on the list.
3B
AVG: .267
Home Runs: 548
RBI: 1,595
