Schmidt had a reputation for toughness enhanced by his grotesque-looking hands, the result of work as a coal miner and prizefighter.

[4] Duke Finn, his manager at Little Rock, thought Schmidt showed good baseball judgment during games.

[4] In late August 1905, the Minneapolis Millers sold Schmidt, Davy Jones, and Ed Siever to the Detroit Tigers.

[5] Schmidt compiled a .218 batting average, not a great figure, but manager Bill Armour told him to concentrate on defense and handling the pitchers on the roster.

[2] In 1907, Schmidt appeared in 104 games, 96 as the Tigers' starting catcher, and compiled a .244 batting average with six triples and eight stolen bases.

[2] The Tigers won the American League pennant and lost to the Chicago Cubs in the 1907 World Series.

Schmidt hit .167 (two singles in 12 at bats) in the World Series,[2] and his multiple defensive lapses in Game 1 were particularly costly.

Schmidt's poor throw to second base in the fourth inning failed to catch Frank Chance who was heading down the line when the batter swung and missed.

He found it almost impossible to locate second sack, and only once, in a half dozen tries, did he manage to put the ball where the infielder could get it on the runner.

[2] Many people who saw him play speculated that his gnarled hands made it difficult to grip the ball, which led to all the stolen bases against him.

[18] Prior to the 1909 season, Schmidt did not attend spring training with the team, instead holding out over salary issues.

Schmidt argued that reporters who criticized his misplays were not taking into consideration his skill or the fact that injuries to his throwing hand had hindered his last two seasons.

[2] In January 1911, Schmidt sent a lengthy letter published by the Detroit Free Press complaining of mistreatment by manager Hughie Jennings.

[2] The Detroit Free Press in October 1911 wrote: "Schmidt, who reported with a sore arm, has done practically no work this season, beyond warming up the pitchers and some very useful pinch hitting when called upon.

[2] Schmidt's work in the coal mines as a young man helped him to develop a muscular and powerful physique.

Even early in his baseball career, his knuckles and joints bore the signs of extreme disfigurement, a result of his work in the coal mines and his prizefighting.

Schmidt put this to his advantage, though, regularly using his right fist to divert baserunners from reaching home plate and sometimes simply punching his opponents.

[18][28] Their first clash came in Augusta, Georgia, in March 1907, when Cobb was trying to chase a drunk groundskeeper into the Warren Park clubhouse.

[29][30][b] Both participants wanted a rematch, and they staged a second fight at a baseball field in Meridian, Mississippi, on a day off later in the season.

He announced that he was training with former welterweight boxing champion Rube Ferns and offered to put up $2,000 of his own money on the outcome of the fight.

Accompanying his teammates to a carnival on one occasion, he had a wrestling match with a bear, pinning the animal in place by the end of the fight.

He likely would have played MLB baseball longer had he not suffered many fractures sustained of his thumb and fingers during his career.

[25] Schmidt also had stints with the Mobile Sea Gulls (1913–1916), Vernon Tigers (1916), Memphis Chickasaws (1917), Sioux City Indians (1919), Tulsa Oilers (1919), Fort Smith Twins (1920–1921), Atlanta Crackers (1921–1922), Springfield Midgets (1924), and Kalamazoo Celery Pickers (1926).

Some newspapers attributed it to his dominance of prizefights, and other reporters thought it originated during his service in the coal mines.

[1][4] In the early 1930s, he worked for Ford Motor Company in Detroit and managed the Walkerville baseball team of the Michigan–Ontario League in 1932.