Clearwater Phillies New Manager
Schmidt hired as minor league manager
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt was hired Tuesday to manage the Philadelphia Phillies' single-A team in Clearwater, Fla.
This will be the first managerial job for the 54-year-old former third baseman. In 2002, he was a part-time hitting instructor with the Phillies.
Schmidt hit 548 homers -- ninth in major league history -- and won three MVP awards and 10 Gold Gloves. He made 12 All-Star teams during a career spent entirely with Philadelphia (1972-89).
He walked away from the game while the Phillies were in San Diego on Memorial Day 1989 when he felt he could not play at the level he expected from himself.
In 1995 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Love for game lures Schmidt back as manager
From the Seattle Times
Mike Schmidt spent his retirement distancing himself from baseball, trying hobbies like golf and fishing.
Only in the last couple of years has one of the greatest third basemen realized the game was still his passion.
Schmidt returned yesterday to the only organization he knew as a player when the Philadelphia Phillies hired him to manage their Class A team in Clearwater, Fla.
"There's a bit of a void in my life," Schmidt said. "I've been involved in other things that have taken me away from baseball. The thing that would be most fulfilling is to get back in the game and life I know the most about."
This will be the first managerial job for the 54-year-old Hall of Famer. In 2002, he was a part-time hitting instructor with the Phillies.
"I've enjoyed teaching and working with them the times I've been there," Schmidt said. "I guess that was the catalyst to get back in the game."
He hit 548 homers — ninth in major-league history — and won three MVP awards and 10 Gold Gloves. Schmidt made 12 All-Star teams during a career spent entirely with Philadelphia (1972-89).
He walked away from the game while the Phillies were in San Diego on Memorial Day 1989 when he felt he could not play at the level he expected from himself.
In 1995, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Schmidt had little association with the Phillies before reaching out to team president David Montgomery about a return. Schmidt met last week with general manager Ed Wade and assistant GM Mike Arbuckle to discuss his interest in managing.
Schmidt said he signed only a one-year deal to make sure this was really the career path he wanted to take.
"I know coaching and teaching is in my blood," he said. "I've never been in a position where I had to do it on a long-term basis."
He's starting in the minor leagues because Schmidt didn't feel he had the experience to go straight to the majors, especially after a nearly 15-year absence.
"I wanted a chance to be the guy, to be in charge," he said. "I didn't want to be a coach. I didn't want to be a coach in the major leagues. I wanted an opportunity to call the shots."
Schmidt blamed his being away from the organization on having a busy schedule, especially with golf. He has been a regular for years on the celebrity golf tour and had been trying to win a card on the Senior Tour.
He also developed a passion for fishing and started the Mike Schmidt Winners Circle Offshore Invitational in 2001.
Schmidt takes over a team that went 72-61 last year under Roly de Armas, who returns to the rookie-level Gulf Coast team that he managed during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Schmidt, who will attend major-league spring training for a couple of weeks, hopes he can successfully blend teaching and winning while discovering whether managing is what he really wants to do.
"I'm hoping my answer would be that I'd like to do it for a long, long time," he said