Frederick Albert Schmidt (February 9, 1916 – November 17, 2012) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for three different

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

teams between 1944 and 1947. He was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed. Schmidt entered the majors in 1944 with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, playing for them one year before joining military service during World War II. In his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season, Schmidt went 7–3 with a 3.15

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, two

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s, and five saves to help his team to clinch the

pennant. He also pitched 3.1 scoreless

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

in Game 3 of the

1944 World Series World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, won by the Cardinals over the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in six games. After his discharge, Schmidt rejoined St. Louis in 1946 but he was not the same after that. He divided his playing time with the Cardinals,

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizen ...

and Cubs in 1947, his last major league season. In a three-season career, Schmidt posted a 13–11 record with 98

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and a 3.75 ERA in 85 appearances, including 15 starts, three

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, two

s, five saves, and 225.1 innings. Schmidt died on November 17, 2012. At the time of his death, Schmidt (96) was recognized as the fourth oldest living major league ballplayer. From November 2011 until his death, he was the oldest to have played for a World Series–winning team. He was also the oldest living player for the Cardinals and Phillies.

References

External links

Baseball Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Freddy 1916 births 2012 deaths Abilene Blue Sox players Albany Cardinals players Allentown Wings players United States Army personnel of World War II Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Hartford, Connecticut Brownsville Charros players Chicago Cubs players Dallas Eagles players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Martinsville Manufacturers players Mobile Shippers players Nashville Vols players Philadelphia Phillies players Portsmouth Red Birds players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players Seattle Rainiers players Shelby Cardinals players Springfield Cardinals players Wichita Falls Spudders players