MIKE SCHMIDT.(Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer)(Brief Article)

Hall of Famer Featured in Baseball Digest 22 Years Ago

IN 1979, MIKE SCHMIDT OF THE PHILLIES enjoyed one of his most productive major leauge seasons when he hit 45 homers with 114 RBI, 109 runs, 120 walks and a .253 batting average.

Gracing the October 1979 cover of Baseball Digest, Schmidt was featured in a story about his struggle to become a consistent big league performer.

The article stated, "Schmidt has been canonized as an outstanding defensive third baseman, recognized as a prodigious power hitter, acknowledged as a man who drives in runs, yet always there has been a lurking inconsistency."

"You just work so hard at something and worry so much about it," Schmidt said in 1979 about his hitting. "At times I've sat down and worried and not gotten headaches, but I've worried so much, done so much practicing, thinking, working on hitting to become a great hitter someday. If you could draw a line and say, well, when I reach this line and go over it, I will have achieved all the things I worked so hard for, then it doesn't seem that big a deal. When you achieve that, it doesn't seem that tough. Hey, it's easy."

At the start of Schmidt's brilliant 18-year career, former manager Danny Ozark said, "The sky's the limit for Mike. He's capable of accomplishing almost anything with the bat and he's a great fielder."

Schmidt often ...