Mike Schmidt made his major league debut on September 12, 1972. It was just over a year ago that he was taken with the sixth overall pick in the 1971 amateur draft, in which he was passed up by the Kansas City Royals. With the fifth pick, the Royals choose another eventual Hall of Fame third baseman, George Brett.
In that first game, Mike Schmidt didn’t get the start at third base. Don Money made an error in the first inning that helped the Mets score two runs and in the second inning, Mike Schmidt replaced him. He struck out in his first at bat but he got his first career hit, a single, in the fifth inning. He struck out again in the seventh then he drew a walk in the ninth inning to load the bases and was replaced by pinch runner Larry Bowa. The Phillies scored two of their three runs in that ninth inning but they came up short and lost to the Mets 4-3.
Three days later, in his third game, Mike Schmidt hit his first career homerun. Playing against the Expos and down 1-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth, Mike Schmidt hit a three run homer to win the game for the Phillies. He scored his first career run and had his first career RBI in that game as well.
Mike Schmidt never really lit it up that September. After that homerun, Schmidt was five for twenty four with one run and no RBIs. He finished the season with 15 strikeouts in only 34 at bats and he hovered around the .200 batting mark for most of that last month. Little did we know that the Phillies had a star in the making and that Phillies fans would have to sit through a horrible rookie year by Schmidt before he realized his potential.
Here’s a look at Mike Schmidt’s numbers in 1972:
Games 13
AB 34
Runs 2
Hits 7
Doubles 0
Triples 0
Homeruns 1
RBIs 3
Walks 5
Strikeouts 15
Stolen Bases 0
Caught Stealing 0
BA .206
OBA .325
SLG% .294
OPS .619
RC 4
RCAA 0
RCAP 0
RC/G 4.00
ISO .088
