On May 29th, 1989... twenty-three years ago to the day... Mike Schmidt announced his retirement from baseball.
In a current ESPN SportsNation Poll ranking the greatest third basemen of all-time, Schmidt is ranked #1 with the most first place votes. This isn't surprising since Schmidt had a stellar career that ended with him being inducted into Cooperstown in 1995 as a first ballot HOFer.
His career accomplishments are mind-blowing:
MLB All-Century Team
MLB All-Time Team
1980 World Series Champion & MVP
3x NL MVP Award Winner (1980, 1981, 1986)
12x All-Star
10x Gold Glove Award Winner
6x Silver Slugger Award Winner
8x NL Home Run Champion
1983 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Winner
And since I was a child of the 80's, I had the privilege to witness Schmidt's greatness. Although he was injured for part of the 1988 season and he retired halfway through the 1989 season, he still wrapped up the 80's as one of the most greatest hitters in the decade.
Here are his rankings among MLB's finest during the 80's:
832 Runs Scored (9th)
313 Home Runs (1st)
929 RBI's (T-2nd w/Dale Murphy)
.540 Slugging Percentage (1st)
.385 On-Base Percentage (T-8th w/Dwight Evans)
Okay... you've seen the accolades and the numbers.
Where does Mike Schmidt rank among the greatest third basemen to play the game?
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
1 comment:
Number 1
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