Schmidt was a macho asshole. I couldn't stand him. Of course my being a Pirates fan was part of that. I also hated Rose, but admired him and wanted to play like him. Only the other hand, I really admired Steve Carlton. He was mysterious and great. I loved the rare times we beat him.Good to see that. Pete was an important part of that Phillies World Series team in 1980. Mike Schmidt:
"
No gimmes. That was the bottom line on Philadelphia Phillies playoff games in 1976, 1977 and 1978. The baseball gods seemed to mock Danny Ozark and his troops with an unending series of numbing, bizarre and cruel finishes.
Each choke, gag, frustration increased the pressure on the veteran corps of Phillies.
Schmidt was smack dab in the middle of all that. Yeah, 1980 was when Michael Jack finally learned how to knock down the gimme, thanks to the help of Pete Rose.
"Before, we always seemed to find a way to fall down even though I thought we were the best team in baseball from 1975 on. We had the best talent. That's why we won. You could look up the numbers. No one won more than we did," Schmidt acknowledged. "I don't think we could have faced the Philadelphia fans if we hadn't won in 1980. That would have been the last straw. Maybe that's why we battled tooth and nail to the end."
"The only difference in 1980 was Pete. He was insurance that we weren't going to lose, not so much that we were going to win," Schmidt said.
"He had always guided his team," Schmidt said. "We'd seen his magic against Boston, against the Yankees, against us in 1976. He'd always come up big. He'd always come out a winner. We'd never had anyone with that kind of winning experience. He was a security blanket for all of us.
"It's kind of strange to describe," Schmidt said. "He couldn't beat you by himself. He couldn't carry a team. He needed help. But, he continually made the situation right for guys around him by pumping them up, giving encouragement. It was never, 'If we win' it was 'When we win' with Pete. There was never a doubt with Pete. He erased our doubts. We all had our doubts because of the way we'd lost them in the three playoffs before."
"I've said it a billion times over the years, he was the most positive influence on my career from the first day I met him," Schmidt said........................................................
SCHMIDT WAS ā80āS MAN IN CLUTCH CALLS PETE ROSE TEAMāS āINSURANCEā
Mike Schmidtās competitive juices were flowing again this week when he took part in a Skins Golf Game against Michael Jordan, Frank Gifford and Joe Morgan. āIt was different,ā saiā¦www.mcall.com
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