Mike Schmidt: A Rarity Among Ball Players


Even the casual Phillies fan knows about Mike Schmidt’s accomplishments.  In his 18 year career, he hit 548 home runs, knocked in 1,595 RBIs, and had 2,234 hits.  Up until 2014, Schmidt was the all-time Phillies hit leader, when Jimmy Rollins passed him.  He was an eleven time all-star, with a home run in the 1981 hit fest that took place in Cleveland.  Three times Schmidt earned the NL MVP award, and ten times he won the gold glove award for his defensive prowess at third base.  He was the MVP of the first Phillies World Championship in 1980, and elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1994.  In fact, many Phillies fans remember fondly the 1994 induction ceremony, when both Schmidt and Phillies favorite Richie Ashburn were inducted together.

But Schmidt has one more amazing accomplishment.  He spent his entire 18 year career with one team, the Philadelphia Phillies.  To put into perspective how rare this is, in the entire history of major league baseball, only 65 players with 15 or more years of experience spent their entire career on one team.  Of those, 35 are currently in the Hall of Fame.

Schmidt is, of course, in good company.  Hall of Famers who played for only one team include the Yankees’ Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle, the Cardinals’ Stan Musial, the Orioles Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer and Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.

One might think that the phenomenon of players staying with a single team for their entire career would become even rarer in the age of free agency.  But this doesn’t appear to be the case.  Hall of Famers who spent their entire career with one team and retired after Schmidt include Cal Ripken, Jr., Tony Gwynn and Craig Biggio.  Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter are two more recently retired players who spent their whole career with the Yankees who appear destined for the Hall of Fame.

To date, however, Schmidt is the only player with 15 seasons or more to play his entire career with the Philadelphia Phillies.

By: William J. Kovatch, Jr.

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