One of the more memorable moments of this job came back in the 2003 season when Mike Schmidt -- the Mike Schmidt -- stood casually by the coaches lockers in the dingy and dark clubhouse in Veterans Stadium and broke down what it took to be a great hitter. During that now-infamous chat with a few writers, Schmidt demonstrated different batting stances, showed off various swings for all situations, and talked theory and philosophy until we were kicked out of the clubhouse.
Needless to say, being on the front row for something like that with one of the great hitters of all-time was kind of cool. Plus, Schmidty wasn’t cranky, combative or moody that day, which made it even nicer. Schmidt, I was warned by a more-seasoned writer, had a reputation for being a “little crazy.”
“One day he’ll tell you the sky is blue and get into why it’s blue for about two hours. The next day he’ll deny the whole thing and tell you the sky is purple,” I was told.
But when I was a kid and an epic letter writer, Schmidt responded to one of my queries with a formally typed letter of his own. I think he sent autographs back, too, though I probably didn’t ask. I was more interested in a response, and in that regard Schmidt was OK in my book.
So when his demonstration that June day turned into a rant against Pat Burrell’s season-long slump, well, we were on to something. This was better than a demonstration about hitting from one of the all-time greats -- this was a story. A good story is better than anything and Schmidt was dropping one straight on to our laps. Now he was more than OK in my book.
It should go without writing that we all wrote about that conversation with Schmidt. I saved mine and reprinted it here. As most remember, we all talked about it pretty extensively. In fact, Schmidt felt compelled to apologize a few days later for his comments to us. When we saw him again in Baltimore for a 20-year reunion and home-run derby of the Orioles-Phillies World Series, he made sure we all knew the topic of Pat Burrell and his hitting was off limits.
That’s until now. After nearly four years (has it really been that long!), Schmidt decided the statute of limitations was up and Burrell was fair game. While he was at it, Schmidty offered up some analysis on Adam Dunn’s (lack of) hitting, too.
According to the great Hay McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, Schmidt, “unprompted,” cited Burrell and Dunn as two players that, “tick me off” because “they strike out so much.”
I wonder if Schmidt showed off his Albert Pujols batting stance the way he did back in ’03?
“I look at Dunn and Burrell and I go, ‘My God, if these guys cut their strikeouts down to 75 or 80, they put the ball in play 85 or 90 more times a year.’ That's at least 15 more home runs a year and at least 35 more RBIs a year.”
And…
“I mean, why would Dunn and Burrell watch what Pujols does and not want to be like him, as good as he is?” Schmidt said. “When their careers are over, they are going to wonder how much they left on the table, how much they left on the field. If only they had choked up with two strikes, spread their stances out. What they are doing now is not great, it is mediocrity.”
Schmidt isn’t wrong – just like he wasn’t wrong during that initial consultation. However, no one, not even Schmidt, can “be like” Pujols. That’s like asking Picasso to “show me how to paint like you.”
Schmidt’s other mistake is believing that Burrell cares as much about being a great hitter as he did.