Mike Schmidt

An unprecedented combination of power and defense made Mike Schmidt one of the game's greatest third basemen.

The best third baseman to ever play Major League Baseball, Mike Schmidt was a great slugger, a record-setting fielder, a three-time National League Most Valuable Player, and the finest Philadelphia Phillie ever, according to a 1983 vote by Philadelphia fans.

Schmidt ranks seventh on the all-time home run list with 548. Only Babe Ruth, Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Foxx, and Mickey Mantle scaled the 500-home run peak in fewer at bats. Schmidt's ratio of one home run to every 15.24 at bats is eighth best among all hitters.

He led the NL in home runs a record eight times; only Ruth led his league more often. He slugged 30 or more home runs in a season 13 times, a figure surpassed only by Hank Aaron, and reached 35 homers 11 times, more often than anyone but Ruth. His 44 games with two or more home runs tie him with Willie McCovey for 10th overall, and Schmidt and Ralph Kiner are the only players to homer in four consecutive at bats on two different occasions. Schmidt hit 509 of his home runs as a third baseman, including 48 in 1980, both records for the hot corner.

On January 10, 1995, Schmidt was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Schmidt, appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, received 444 of the 460 votes cast and easily surpassed the magic number of 345 (75 percent) needed for election. His 96.52 percent was the fourth highest in history, surpassed only by Tom Seaver's 98.84 percent in 1992, Ty Cobb's 98.23 percent in 1936, and Hank Aaron's 97.83 percent in 1982. Schmidt became the 26th player to win election on his first ballot.