Willard Schmidt

Willard Schmidt
Pitcher
Born: May 29, 1928 Hays, Kansas
Died: March 22, 2007 (aged 78) Newcastle, Oklahoma
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1952, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1959, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	31–29
Earned run average	3.93
Innings pitched	586^1⁄3
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1953; 1955–1957) Cincinnati Redlegs / Reds (1958–1959)

Willard Raymond Schmidt (May 29, 1928 – March 22, 2007) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball between 1952 and 1959. Listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), 187 pounds (85 kg), Schmidt batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Hays, Kansas. His four grandparents were Volga Germans.

He reached the majors in 1952 with the St. Louis Cardinals, spending part of six years with them (1952–53, 1955–57) before moving to the Cincinnati Redlegs (1958–59) in the same transaction that brought Curt Flood to St. Louis.^[1] His most productive season came in 1957 with the Cardinals, when he set a 10–3 mark and led the National League pitchers with a .769 W-L %. He was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

In a seven-season career, Schmidt posted a 31–29 record with 323 strikeouts and a 3.93 ERA in 194 appearances, including 55 starts, 11 complete games, one shutout, two saves, and 586¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

Following his playing career, Schmidt was a business owner in Norman, Oklahoma, where he and his wife, Margaret Schachle Schmidt, raised their family of six children, all of whom attended and graduated from the University of Oklahoma, before retiring to a small farm in Newcastle, Oklahoma.

Fact

• On April 26, 1959, Schmidt became the first player in major league history to get hit by a pitch twice in the same inning by two different pitchers, when Bob Rush and Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves hit him in the third inning of an 11–10 Cinicinnati's victory. The mark was matched later by Frank Thomas of the New York Mets (NL, 1962) and Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles (AL, 1999).

See also

• St. Louis Cardinals all-time roster

References

1. "Reds Get Schmidt in 5-Man Trade". Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 6, 1957. p. 5, part 3. Retrieved April 11, 2016.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball Library
• Historic Baseball