Mike Schmidt's 14-Year Run of Excellence Included an Aberration

It's hard to find quickly on his Baseball-Reference page, but once you do, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Former Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt is one of the best — if not the best — third basemen of all time. He was a top offensive force throughout his career while also being a defensive stalwart at the hot corner.

He has the stats and hardware to prove it. Schmidt was a three-time MVP and 12-time All-Star for the Phils. His 548 career home runs are easily the most in franchise history. Schmidt also boasts a .908 career OPS with six Silver Slugger Awards and 10 Gold Glove Awards.

So, yeah — the guy was pretty dang good at his job. Unsurprisingly, Schmidt was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, receiving 96.5% of the vote in 1995. That was made possible because he spent almost his entire career annihilating his competition. He slugged 30-plus homers in a season on 13 different occasions. That’s tied with some guy named Babe Ruth for the fifth-most all-time.

Those occurrences are broken into two streaks: 1974-77 and 1979-87. But what the heck happened in 1978?

Mike Schmidt’s Incredibly Long Power Peak

The infielder got a taste of the big leagues in 1972 as a 22-year-old, appearing in 13 games and racking up 40 plate appearances. That meant he still held onto his rookie status for 1973, which was certainly a learning experience.

Schmidt finished the year with a .196/.324/.373 line, 18 home runs, and 52 RBI in 443 plate appearances. Clearly, though, he took his learnings from that first full year in The Show and became a perennial MVP contender.

He went on to hit at least 36 homers in each of the next three seasons and led the league in that category from 1974-77. A typical year for Schmidt during this time included a .267/.383/.541 line while averaging 38 homers, 30 doubles, 105 RBI, and 107 runs scored.

His second streak of 30-plus homers was more impressive, though — and not just because it was longer than the first. The period between 1979 and 1987 included five more single-season home run titles, four single-season RBI crowns, seven Gold Gloves, and all six of his Silver Sluggers.

A typical year for him was quite similar to his first streak. Schmidt hit .279/.392/.560 while averaging 38 homers, 25 doubles, 106 RBI, and 97 runs scored per season.

What Happened in 1978, Though?

The one season that looks like it doesn’t belong on Schmidt’s Baseball-Reference page is his 1978 season. While he won a Gold Glove and produced 6.2 bWAR, his offense struggled. In his age-28 campaign, Schmidt slashed .251/.364/.435 with 21 homers, 27 doubles, 78 RBI, and 93 runs scored.

Was it a terrible season? No. It just wasn’t what people were used to seeing from him at that time. My first thought was that he had to have been dealing with some injuries along the way, and that’s exactly what happened.

Although Schmidt played in 145 games for the Phillies, SABR noted he dealt with “a string of injuries, leading to a prolonged slump and his first disappointing season since his rookie year.”

But This Is How You Bounce Back

Baseball is a humbling game. Even the best position players that have ever stepped foot on a diamond failed more than they succeeded. As we know, that rough season for Schmidt was just an aberration. And how he bounced back makes his career even more remarkable.

Here’s how the next three years played out for him:

• 1979: .950 OPS, 45 homers, 114 RBI, All-Star, Gold Glove, 13th in MVP voting

• 1980: 1.004 OPS (led league), 48 homers (led league), 121 RBI (led league), All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, World Series title, World Series MVP, NL MVP

• 1981 (shortened season): 1.080 OPS (led league), 31 homers (led league), 91 RBI (led league), All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, NL MVP

I think it’s safe to say that he erased any memory of that rough 1978 season in short order. That’s how Hall of Famers bounce back from a substandard performance.