Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Michael Jack Schmidtis an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseballfor the Philadelphia Phillies. Schmidt was a twelve-time All-Star and a three-time winner of the National LeagueMost Valuable Player award, and he was known for his combination of power hitting and strong defense: as a hitter, he compiled 548 home runs and 1,595 runs batted in, and led the NL in home runs eight times and in RBIs four times. As a fielder,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth27 September 1949
CityDayton, OH
CountryUnited States of America
I feel comfortable that any player from when I played through today is going to find that it's truthful and enlightening. I don't think I cross the line, but I go up to the line a little bit.
Gold Gloves are nice to have people mention. They're basically saying you're a pretty good defensive player along with everything else. But I was about the offensive side.
Pete's confession lacked one major thing in Bud's mind: remorse. I spoke to Bud later, and he told me he got the confession he had expected, but not the expression of genuine remorse he had hoped for.
That was one of the most comfortable things about leaving baseball was to leave the environment. It's very much like a rock star existence - the nightlife, the hotels, lack of privacy... There's a lot of temptations out there. It was nice getting away from it.
If you could equate the amount of time and effort put in mentally and physically into succeeding on the baseball field and measured it by the dirt on your uniform, mine would have been black.
But remember this: in the final analysis, you can believe in your dream, you can be taught, supported, motivated, and loved by others, but ultimately, your success depends on you. You must take responsibility for your body, your mind, and for your character.
Philadelphia is the only city, where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day.
If you're associated with the Philadelphia media or town, you look for negatives. I don't know if there's something about their upbringing or they have too many hoagies, or too much cream cheese.
I can't stand satisfaction. To me, greatness comes from that quest for perfection.
I'm 61 now, and I'm comfortable in my lifestyle... I don't yearn for the limelight on a regular basis. I get a kick out of it every so often. I go to Philly and go to a game, and they make a big deal about me. That's fun for a couple of days, and I can go back to my own private life.
Pete Rose is the most likable arrogant person I've ever met.
Major League Baseball has created a Pete Rose purgatory, and that's where he is. And that's where he's always going to be. It's unfortunate that the commissioner's office has decided to allow that to be the reality. I don't think Pete would mind if they said 'No' to Pete. Pete wants them to go one way or the other and get him out of the void he's in.
You're trying your damndest, you strike out and they boo you. I act like it doesn't bother me, like I don't hear anything the fans say, but the truth is I hear every word of it and it kills me.
They read their sports pages, know their statistics and either root like hell or boo our butts off. I love it. Give me vocal fans, pro or con, over the tourist types who show up in Houston or Montreal and just sit there.