Rookie Card 1973

Paul Owens

Dallas Green

Danny Ozark

Larry Bowa

Bobby Wine

Dave Cash

Part I

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Mike Schmidt as the 30th pick in the 1971 MLB draft.

• The previous pick had been none other than George Brett by the Kansas City Royals - two future Hall of Famers back-to-back in the same draft.
• After a brief appearance on the ML roster in 1973, Brett played the 1974 season with the Royals and compiled these numbers.

133 G, .282 BA, 90 RBI, 11 HR, 38 K, .363 Slg.%, .313 OBP

• Solid figures, but the next season, George led the AL in AB, H, and 3B and drove in 90.
• In 1976, Brett topped the league in hitting with a .333 BA.

Schmidt played a full ML season one year earlier than Brett but with much less success than George had the following campaign.

• After an injury-riddled high school career in football, basketball, and base­ball, Mike walked on to the baseball team at the University of Ohio. Sum­mer leagues after his senior year of high school and in subsequent years helped him develop into an All-American SS for the Bobcats, who made the College World Series his junior year.
• Despite concerns about his high number of strikeouts, the Phillies believed in his potential enough to use their second choice in the '71 draft on him.
• Schmidt played the latter part of the 1971 season at AA Reading. Then he was promoted to AAA Eugene (OR), where he hit .291 with 26 HRs but also stuck out 145 times.
• After a token (13 games) callup in 1972, Mike played 132 games for the Phils in '73 after the Phillies traded 3B Don Money to the Brewers in the offseason. Here are the depressing stats for his first full-season in the bigs:

.196 BA, 52 RBI, 18 HR, 136 K, 62 BB, .373 Slg.%, .324 OBP

• The Philadelphia fans showered Mike with boos as the season continued. No one could imagine this bum making the Hall of Fame someday, especially when he finished the season hitless in his last 26 at-bats to drop his ave­rage below .200.
• Schmidt had been rushed to the big leagues because the Phillies' front office - and scout Paul Owens in particular - thought he had the potential to be a Five Tool player. Minor League Director Dallas Green recalled: He could run like hell. He could steal bases. He had a great arm. He could field with the best of them, and he could hit and hit with power.
• With the last-place Phils going nowhere, management decided to go with youth. When Mike got off to a bad start in '73, Green and Owens wanted to send him back to AAA, but manager Danny Ozark pushed hard to keep him in the big leagues. Green: Danny recognized that this guy was going to be that good, and we weren't going anywhere anyway. You have to have pa­tience with those guys. Ozark: Mike had proven he could hit AAA pitching; what was he going to prove down there? I said to Owens, "We might as well let him play." He had great hands, quick reactions, and his swing was like a Ben Hogan golf swing. The ball came off the bat like a rocket. He didn't muscle the ball. It was all timing and bat speed. He had so much talent, it was only a matter of time before he put it all together.
• While Ozark believed in Mike's potential, his manner of motivating him hurt rather than helped the struggling youngster. Danny called Schmidt to his office almost every day to give him advice. That approach might have work­ed with others, but it only made Mike more tense. He thought I was a stub­born kid. He treated me more like my father, disciplining me, yelling at me, using me as an example. ... I love Danny Ozark for caring about me as much as he did, but I'm not sure the way he cared about me helped me that year.
• The Phillie veterans were another source of irritation, especially Larry Bowa, whom he never got along with even after playing side by side on the left side of the infield for nearly a decade. Like many vets, Bowa thought the rookie 3B was spoiled and cocky. Schmidt: Larry was a great clubhouse needler, but he didn't have great timing. There were times when he didn't nee­dle people, and I think he should have. There were times when he needled me that I thought it would be best to lay off. One time, I got so angry in a club­house in Houston that I almost wanted to kill him. I probably would have if there weren't four other players there to separate us.

Mike's improvement began immediately after the '73 campaign ended.

• Ozark invited him to spent two weeks with him in the batting cages at Veterans Stadium.
• Danny and the Phillies brass knew that Mike's problem was mental, not physical. He was a classic overthinker. Green: He always drove us crazy with that. ... He was stubborn in making adjustments and understanding hitting.
• Ozark: At first, I think Mike resented my postseason instruction, but he got over it when he realized the practice was for his own benefit. Nor was there anything drastic about the change I suggested in his hitting. It was just a slight change in the way he held the bat and his stance. The ability was there. It was just a matter of improving his concentration.
• Schmidt also benefitted from playing for Phillies coach Bobby Wine during winter ball in Puerto Rico. Wine took the opposite approach from Ozark. He was soft-spoken and gave positive reinforcement. Following Bobby's advice, Mike became more relaxed at the plate and cut down on his swing. He told Wine: All these years, I've thought you had to swing hard to hit it far. Trying to hit it far by swinging hard, that's what created all my problems. Now I know you can swing easy and get the same results.
• Another off-season change that helped Mike was getting married. By his own admission, he had led a playboy lifestyle as a bachelor rookie in the majors. Schmidt: Last year, I was single, and I'd never go home right after a game. Sometimes I'd be out until all hours of the morning. Things are different now that I have a wife to go home to. I'm not concerned with anything now except baseball and loving my wife.

When spring training began, Ozark nearly undid all the progress Wine had made with Schmidt.

• Danny decided Mike needed to change his stance. I've been thinking about the way you uppercut the ball, and I want you to try something different. I want you to hold the bat the way Nate Colbert does. I want you to start with it level instead of holding it upright. Colbert was the righthanded power-hit­ting 1B of the San Diego Padres. But Nate had struck out 146 times in '73. Why would Ozark want Schmidt to emulate him?
• Mike didn't react positively to his manager's proposal. He felt he had straightened out his stroke in winter ball. Even when Ozark insisted that a .196 hitter couldn't be stubborn and threatened to send him to AAA, Schmidt didn't acquiesce. Finally, Wine convinced Danny to leave the young slugger alone. Don't change his stance and back off the constant lectures.
• An offseason trade with the Pirates also contributed to Mike's success. New 2B Dave Cash brought leadership to the clubhouse and instilled much­needed confidence in the entire team and its 3B in particular. Cash: Mike had all the tools but he didn't have the confidence. He was constantly doubting himself. And the fans rode him pretty hard. I spent a lot of time with him, try­ing to get him to block out the crowd.

The results were nothing short of spectacular.

• Here's Mike's stats for 1974, with league-leading numbers are in bold.

162 G, .282 BA, 160 H, 36 HR, 116 RBI, 138 K, 106 BB, .546 Slg.%, .395 OBP

• He needed to get off to a strong start and did. He started out batting eighth, where Ozark put him all of '73. But soon he moved up to 6th and then to 3rd, where he spent most of the year. His numbers made him a can­didate for the NL All-Star team. Only one problem. His subpar showing in '73 resulted in his being left off the printed ballots. But a vigorous campaign by the Phillies earned him the most write-in votes in All-Star history. He finish­ed second behind Ron Cey of the Dodgers. As a result, manager Yogi Ber­ra chose Mike for the All-Star team. Yogi explained: The guy is having a fan­tastic year. I don't want to get shot next time I go to Philly.
• Schmidt: Last year I was in and out of the lineup, and when I was in , I proba­bly tried too hard to do well because I was wondering if I'd be in the next day. I wanted to relax last season, but I couldn't. I was tight as a drum. This year, when I go to the plate, I'd say 70 to 80 percent of the time, I'm at ease just looking to hit the ball hard somewhere. When you come up to the plate that way, your natural instincts take over.

The rest, as they say, is history.

• Mike also led the NL in roundtrippers the next two seasons on his way to clouting 548 four-baggers over a 18-year career. He topped the NL in HRs five more times and stands as the all-time leader among 3Bs.
• Schmidt also won ten Gold Gloves at the hot corner.
• He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1995 by virtue of appearing on 96.5% of the ballots.