Good day all!
On
the blog today, we move on to the National League and MY pick for the
third baseman of the decade, Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies:
For
me, what Schmidt did in six seasons of the 1970s was tops among third
sackers in the Senior League, taking home three home run titles, four
Gold Gloves, three top-10 finishes in the MVP race and four 100-RBI
campaigns.
There
was some competition from the Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star third
baseman Ron Cey, but Schmidt was well on his way to put together a Hall
of Fame career that would leave him in the discussion of "greatest of
them all" for his position.
What a career: 12 All-Star nods, 10 Gold Gloves, three Most Valuable
Player Awards, all while anchoring a Philadelphia Phillies team that
would reach their apex in 1980, taking home the World Series with a
victory over the Kansas City Royals.
By the time he hung them up in 1989, he’d hit 548 home runs, drive in 1595 runs while scoring 1506, while also stealing 174 bases! Easy to forget he could steal a base or two. As a matter of fact, it’s real easy to forget that he came one stolen base short of joining the (then) exclusive 30-30 club back in 1975, slamming 38 homers to lead the league while swiping 29.
Nevertheless, “Schmitty” rode that success straight to a Hall of Fame induction come 1995, a lock if there ever was one.
By the time he hung them up in 1989, he’d hit 548 home runs, drive in 1595 runs while scoring 1506, while also stealing 174 bases! Easy to forget he could steal a base or two. As a matter of fact, it’s real easy to forget that he came one stolen base short of joining the (then) exclusive 30-30 club back in 1975, slamming 38 homers to lead the league while swiping 29.
Nevertheless, “Schmitty” rode that success straight to a Hall of Fame induction come 1995, a lock if there ever was one.
