Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt returns as the Class A Clearwater Threshers manager and shows he still has the passion for the game.
By BOB PUTNAM
Published April 14, 2004
CLEARWATER - Phillies great Mike Schmidt made his managerial debut Thursday, leading the Clearwater Threshers in their Bright House Networks Field opening before a cheering 2,837.
His baptism into minor-league coaching was a rocky one. The team lost its opener. Then another. And another Saturday. After starting 0-3, Schmidt unleashed a chair-throwing, expletive-filled tongue-lashing that would make former teammate and Phillies manager Larry Bowa proud.
His players got it Sunday, rewarding the Hall of Fame third baseman with his first win.
After 15 years out of baseball, it was finally time.
Welcome back, Mike.
Welcome to the life of a manager.
"There was a void in my baseball life so to speak," Schmidt said. "The good lord has created an opportunity to fill that void and mentor some young men and run a baseball game, run a baseball team, sort of like be a leader, be in charge."
Schmidt had been out of baseball and the public eye for 15 years. Since retiring from the game on Memorial Day in 1989, Schmidt had surfaced only fleetingly for charity outings and cameos in his role as a part-time hitting instructor with the organization.
He has spent his retirement in leisurely luxury in Jupiter with his wife, Donna, and their two children. He became addicted to golf, developed a passion for fishing and blended in with other parents at his daughter's cheerleading competitions and son's football games.
But after keeping a low profile for so many years, Schmidt needed something other than golf or fishing to challenge him.
He missed baseball. Ultimately, the competitive drive that helped him become a three-time MVP and 12-time All-Star lured him back to the game he loved.
Bowa, Schmidt's teammate on the 1980 squad that won the World Series, persuaded him to take a job as a special hitting coach during spring training in 2002.
Schmidt thrust himself back into the spotlight by agreeing to be a roving hitting instructor the past two seasons. But it wasn't enough. He wanted to be in charge and expressed an interest in the Clearwater job while in Philadelphia during the final weekend of the 2003 season.
Phillies general manager Ed Wade and assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle met with Schmidt in October last year. Arbuckle called Schmidt later and offered him the job.
"It's tremendous that we have a player and a person of Mike's caliber rejoin the organization," Arbuckle told the Philadelphia Inquirer last October.
By signing a one-year contract to manage the Threshers, the Phillies Class A team, Schmidt became the first former player hired as a minor-league manager after being elected to the Hall of Fame.
In a way it feels like old times. Schmidt is back in Clearwater where he spent spring training for 18 seasons and still wears his familiar No. 20.
The Threshers already have seen the public-relations value of having a high-profile manager in place.
Aside from the new $32-million complex and the new uniforms and logo, Schmidt is the Threshers' most marketable asset. He has appeared in commercials and the team gave away 2,000 bobblehead dolls bearing his resemblance on Saturday.
The difference has shown in the turnstiles. The Threshers averaged more than 2,100 fans during their first three home games.
"In years past, we'd be lucky to get 2,000 fans on the weekend," said Jason Adams, the team's director of ticketing and media relations.
Schmidt also has been a hit with his players, most of whom are still awestruck having a manager with his credentials. At Carpenter Complex, which is adjacent to the stadium, the minor-league players conduct practice with Schmidt on a field bearing his name.
"I remember when I was 7 or 8 years old and (Schmidt) took me fishing on his boat in Clearwater," said Threshers outfielder Vince Vukovich, the son of Phillies third-base coach Pete Vukovich. "I thought that was the coolest thing. Then I heard he was managing this team and that was pretty exciting.
"I thought I had a chance to go to (Double-A) Reading. Things just didn't work out. But if you're going to get back down to A ball, this is the guy you want to play for."
At times, Schmidt seems like he has been coaching all his life. Other times he seems like the neophyte that he is. He still is getting used to the set roster, the limited pitch count with starters and other nuances that come with this level.
"The games themselves, I feel, are not that hard in terms of running the game and creating the right matchups," Schmidt said. "What makes it hard for me and maybe a lot of the other managers at this level is the roster you have. I have one left-hander in the bullpen. You sort of live with the hand you're dealt with."
Still, Schmidt is completely at ease being in charge and has no difficulty getting his anger across, such as his outburst after Saturday's performance.
"I think he's such a competitor and we played some pretty bad baseball," Vince Vukovich said. "Obviously, I think he got frustrated. It's so new to him. He's got to make some adjustments. This isn't the big leagues."
Added Schmidt: "The only thing I haven't had to do yet is argue with an umpire. I pretty much have gotten over every other hurdle."
Schmidt is viewing his foray into coaching as a 140-game experiment, after which it will be largely up to him whether or not he keeps the job.
"Whether or not it's a long-term thing or not I don't know. It's a long, long season. These last four days I have to keep reminding myself this is only four games into a 134-game season. Games like we had the first three days wear on you.
"I do enjoy this, probably a lot more than I enjoyed being a player. I have much more time now to watch things around me and have funny exchanges. I let my thoughts flow in the dugout with my coaches whereas when I played it was do my job. I sort of had head-blinders on with the rest of the game."
