Ranking the Top 5 greatest third basemen in Phillies franchise history

No. 1: Mike Schmidt

When it comes to the best of the best, no one even comes close to the legendary Mike Schmidt. Perhaps one of the most iconic figures in the history of the Phillies franchise, there sure isn’t anyone among the Phillies faithful who hasn’t heard his name before.

After all, the former Phillies second-round pick from the 1971 MLB Draft ended up spending his entire 18-year MLB career in Philadelphia from 1972 to 1989, which is an extreme rarity in the game today.

Schmidt was a consistent dominant force for the Phillies both offensively and defensively throughout his career. The 12-time All-Star led the National League in numerous offensive stats over the years and was the winner of three MVP Awards, six Silver Slugger Awards and 10 Gold Glove Awards. On top of that, he led the ballclub to the postseason on six different occasions, including winning their first ever World Series championship in team history in 1980 and capturing World Series MVP honours in the process, enough said.

For his career, Schmidt batted .267 with a stellar .908 OPS, 148 OPS+, 1,506 runs scored, 408 doubles, 59 triples, 548 home runs, 1,595 RBI, and 174 stolen bases in 2,404 games. In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments, Schmidt was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility after receiving 96.5 percent of the votes, the third-highest percentage ever for a third baseman behind only George Brett and Chipper Jones.

Not only is Schmidt the greatest third baseman ever to have played for the Phillies, given his exceptional accolades from both the offensive and defensive side of the game, many will argue that he is perhaps the best third baseman to have ever played the game on this planet.

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