Schmidt Set to Make Managerial Debut

From the Tampa Tribune 4/8/04
CLEARWATER - Mike Schmidt can brag about a lot of baseball accomplishments, from hitting 548 home runs to winning a World Series ring in 1980 to being a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1995.

But when the Phillies' Florida State League affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers, plays its first game in its new stadium tonight, the players won't be the only ones in the dugout nervous.

``It will probably be me,'' Schmidt said.

Schmidt is in his first year as a manager. Though he was a hitting instructor for the big-league club the past two spring trainings, and once assisted his son's high school team, Schmidt has never been a manager at any level.

``I have other issues [to confront],'' Schmidt said. ``Like never taking a pitcher out of a ballgame, never arguing with an umpire, never going to home plate to explain the ground rules. I have never had to do any of that. [Tonight] will be a lot of firsts. Hopefully, not arguing with an umpire. But at some point, I will probably have to remove a pitcher.''

Schmidt said he will rely heavily on his staff for the first few games until he learns his players.

``I've wondered how much there is I can handle,'' Schmidt said. ``I'm excited to see it unfold under my watch.''

Schmidt has said he might want to try his hand at managing in the major leagues. One of the reasons he took the job with the Threshers was to get a feel for managing, to see if it's an occupation he might want to further pursue.

``I surely wouldn't discount [one day managing in the majors,]'' Schmidt said. ``One one hand, the responsibility is 10 times greater up there. But there are 10 times less [details] because here, I do it all by myself. Up there, you have a lot of people to delegate things.

``I feel like I need this experience to qualify myself as a candidate - or a non-candidate. My experience here will pretty much dictate that.''