Phillies all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

Third base: Mike Schmidt (106.5 fWAR)

Mike Schmidt is the most accomplished Phillies player ever. The third baseman's 106.5 fWAR is the best by a considerable amount than any other player in the franchise's history. He finished his career, all with the Phillies, with a .267 batting average and a .907 OPS

Schmidt leads all Phillies players, not just third basemen, with 2,404 games, 1,506 runs and 1,595 RBI. His 548 home runs look like an organizational record that will never be eclipsed (Ryan Howard is second with 382). Schmidt was a key member of the Phillies' first championship-winning squad in 1980 and was the World Series MVP.

Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a three-time NL MVP. He won 10 Gold Glove Awards and six Silver Slugger Awards.

The Dayton, Ohio native also led the NL in home runs eight times and in RBI four times during his 18-year MLB career. Schmidt abruptly announced he was retiring from baseball in the middle of the 1989 season.

The third baseman felt he was not the player he used to be and could no longer compete at the standard he set for himself. One of the best pitchers in the history of baseball, Nolan Ryan, said the following about the infielder's exceptional ability: “For a power hitter, he knew the strike zone better than anybody. I could never get him to chase a bad pitch.”

Schmidt had a remarkable tenure in the majors. The organization retired his number on May 26, 1990, and he was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame. The third baseman was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995. His achievement as the greatest Phillie ever may never be surpassed.

Next: A player who was one of the Phillies best leadoff hitters.