PSA BatFacts™

There are a few keys to look for when evaluating Mike Schmidt bats. First of all, Schmidt generally preferred Adirondack to H&B bats but used both during the course of his career, and his uniform number (20) can often be found on the knob in marker. One of the most interesting bats you may find is a Schmidt H&B gamer with red tape around the mid-point of the bat. Schmidt did this to make the bat appear like an Adirondack on television (Adirondacks are known for having a colored ring around the mid-point of the bat). Schmidt most likely did this as a result of a contract with Adirondack. He didn’t do this to all his H&Bs, but you can find some examples with this interesting mark. As expected, due to the lack of a signature contract, H&B Schmidt gamers exhibit his last name in block letters.

Michael Jack Schmidt (September 27, 1949-) was one of the greatest third basemen in the history of baseball, possessing a powerful home run stroke with agility and skill defensively at third. During his 18-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies (1972-1989), Schmidt earned twelve All-Star selections due to the ten Gold Gloves and six Silver Slugger Awards he received from 1974-1989. Schmidt posted a career .955 fielding percentage with 1,591 putouts and 5,045 assists. Mike led the National League eight times in home runs, slugging percentage five times and RBI four times. Mike Schmidt was named NL Most Valuable Player on three occasions (1980, 1981, 1986) and was a member of the 1980 World Series Champion Phillies capturing that year’s World Series MVP Award after batting .381 with two home runs and seven RBI. In 1976, Mike became the tenth player in history to his four home runs in a game. Mike Schmidt ended his career with 2,234 hits, 1,595 RBI, 548 home runs and a .267 career batting average. Michael Jack Schmidt was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.