Still from the MLB Network's 'Michael Jack Schmidt' documentary
There are two main characters in the MLB Network's new documentary, Michael Jack Schmidt: the Hall of Fame third baseman himself, and the Philadelphia Phillies fan base.
The documentary covers the basics of Schmidt's career, of course: how he famously "left Dayton, Ohio with two very bad knees and a dream of becoming a professional baseball player," grew into the best third baseman to ever play the game, suffered heartbreaking postseason defeats in the late 1970s, finally reached the MLB mountaintop in 1980, and, in 1987, became the 14th player in history to reach 500 home runs.
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Harry Kalas calls Michael Jack Schmidt's 500th HR pic.twitter.com/pjP5BiJoU0
But it's Schmidt's relationship with Phillies fans, rather than his countless accomplishments, that forms the heart of the documentary.
"Sports fans in other cities enjoy sports," says Rob Maadi, author of a book on Schmidt, early in the film. "Sports fans in Philadelphia derive their life's joy from the outcome of games from their teams."
Guilty as charged, most Philly sports fans would agree. And when the outcome of those games is disappointing... well, you already know. Things can get ugly.
The documentary features no shortage of angry, jeering faces at Veterans Stadium during Schmidt's career. There are shots of old headlines proclaiming messages such as, "Schmidt has the stats, but he's missing something." We see countless close-ups of Michael Jack's pained face as strikeouts are met with the hostility of thousands.
It all paints a vivid portrait of the conditions the Hall of Famer had to endure.
But rather than taking the lazy, "Philly fans are awful, something something Santa Claus" approach that we've all grown familiar with, the MLB Network's filmmakers conduct a nuanced examination of Schmidt's relationship with fans. There was a disconnect between the fiery passion with which Schmidt played the game and the chilly demeanor of his public persona. And while the film criticizes Phillies fans for their behavior, it examines the player's role in that disconnect as well.
"I think they appreciated [Schmidt], but they wanted to see more emotions on [his] sleeve," says Larry Bowa, one of many Philadelphia sports stars interviewed for the documentary. "He wanted to win as bad as I did, as bad as Bull [Luzinski] did, as bad as anybody. But he kept things bottled up a lot. And I think he got punished for that by the fans."
"Fans, they want to see the human side of people," says Larry Andersen, another interviewee. "And that's where the vulnerability comes in. You have to open yourself up and let people see that. And [Schmidt] was very good at keeping people from seeing inside."
Schmidt opens up during the documentary on how the fans got to him. "It hurts," says the legend. "It hurts a lot. It feels like you've lost fans' support, you feel like they don't care about you. It's like they don't understand how hard you're trying."
Donna Schmidt, a Philadelphia native and Mike's wife, notes that during slumps number 20 would sometimes hit baseballs in a "batting cage kind of thing" rigged up in their home's garage until 3:00 a.m. Anyone who believed that Schmidt didn't care about his craft was grossly misinformed.
The documentary features lighter moments as well. Viewers learn how Mike first hit on Donna. We learn Danny Ozark's derogatory nickname for the future Hall of Famer. Schmidt tells a great story about how he refused Ozark's orders to change his batting stance. Larry Andersen discussing the famous glasses-and-wig stunt is worth the price of admission alone. Charles Barkley, Doug Collins, Dr. J, John Kruk, and others provide fantastic color commentary.
And some of the best parts of the film occur when Michael Jack reads aloud many of the things he said to the press about Phillies fans and reporters during his career. It has the vibe of a "mean tweets" late-night bit, with Schmidt sometimes surprised at his own words.
"If you're associated with the Philadelphia media or town," reads Schmidt from a tablet, "you look for the negatives. I don't know if it's something about their upbringing, or they have too many hoagies, or too much cream cheese."
There is, of course, Schmidt's most famous line of all, "Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory one night, and the agony of reading about it the next day."
And that's not even close to the worst of it. "Whoa, there's a lot in there," Schmidt exclaims after reading one particularly scathing critique of Phils fans.
And after reading another, in a more serious moment: "That quote right there might be the worst thing I ever said."
Schmidt even worried that he would get booed at Cooperstown, during his Hall of Fame induction.
"Nobody gets booed on their Hall of Fame induction day," says Jayson Stark, another heavily-featured interviewee. "But this was Mike Schmidt, this was Philadelphia. You never knew."
Michael Jack, fortunately for everyone, did not get booed during his Cooperstown moment. Most fans now give him the respect and admiration he always deserved. And the documentary shows that Schmidt, too, understands there are things he could have done differently.
The cold truth? Schmidt and Philadelphia were probably never a good match. But the man not only endured, but thrived, bringing the city's baseball franchise its first championship. And Schmidt's legacy eventually settled exactly where it should be.
But it sure was a hell of a ride.
Michael Jack Schmidt will premiere on the MLB Network on Thursday, December 12 at 8:00 p.m.
