Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup of the all-time greats
By Tim Boyle
Hitting cleanup for the Philadelphia Phillies is the great 3B Mike Schmidt
Speaking of Phillies legends, who is more legendary than Mike Schmidt? For as much as people my age may praise Utley for his work on the field, it doesn’t quite compare to the great Schmidt. He is one of the game’s greatest home run hitters and fielders. The combination is something that only comes around once in a generation for each team—if they’re lucky.
Where do you begin with Schmidt? If you know anything about baseball, he’s a clear favorite to bat cleanup in this lineup so why bother, right?
Well, let’s just go over some of his accomplishments.
Schmidt led the league in home runs eight times, did the same in RBI four times, and finished his lifelong Phillies career with 548 round-trippers. Add in his three MVPs, 12 All-Star selections, 6 Silver Sluggers, 10 Gold Gloves, and World Series MVP, and we have ourselves an entire shelf full of awards.
Although a little bias may be the reasoning, I think it’s fair to suggest Schmidt belongs on the all-time MLB starting lineup. So few men at any position were able to accomplish what he could.
There’s no better choice to bat fourth in this dream Phillies lineup. And if he doesn’t get the job done, there’s some left-handed power right behind him for protection.