[1] Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a three-time winner of the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player award (MVP), and he was known for his combination of power hitting and strong defense.

[5] Schmidt was a standout athlete in both Little League Baseball and in 3 sports at Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1967.

Schmidt played the whole game at shortstop for the Phillies, hitting a game-winning home run against his future Reading teammates.

[9] Four days later, in Philadelphia on September 16, Schmidt ended Montreal Expos pitcher Balor Moore's streak of 25 scoreless innings pitched with his first career home run.

[10] Following the 1972 season, the Phillies dealt third baseman Don Money to the Milwaukee Brewers to open a spot for Schmidt in their infield.

[11] Schmidt had a breakout season in 1974, increasing his batting average to .282 and playing in the first of his twelve Major League Baseball All-Star Games.

After solid performance in July and August, his average rose to .249 by the end of the season as he led the league in home runs for the second year in a row, with 38.

Schmidt started the 1976 season by hitting 12 home runs in Philadelphia's first 15 games, including four in one game on April 17, placing him on the list of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders[14] and becoming the 10th player in major league history to accomplish that feat.

In 1977, Schmidt signed a contract with the Phillies that paid him $561,500 per year (equivalent to $2,823,226 in 2023), making him the highest-paid player in baseball history to that point and the first to surpass $500,000 annually.

[15] The Phillies captured the NL East crown three years in a row; however, they were swept by Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" in 1976, and lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977 and 1978.

For his part, Schmidt broke the club record for home runs in a season with 45, eclipsing Chuck Klein's 43 homers in 1929.

With a sacrifice fly in the first, and a solo home run in the sixth, Schmidt led the Phillies to a 2–1 victory to capture first place.

Coupled with a league-leading 121 RBIs, his home runs made Schmidt a unanimous choice for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.

He, Larry Bowa, Garry Maddox, Dick Ruthven and Del Unser took on five members of the Kansas City Royals: Dennis Leonard, Dan Quisenberry, Paul Splittorff, John Wathan and Willie Wilson.

That year, he led the league in home runs for the sixth time in his career to lead the Phillies back to the postseason.

Schmidt led his team with a .467 batting average and scored five runs as they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1983 National League Championship Series.

Trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates 6–5 in the top of the ninth inning at Three Rivers Stadium on April 18, 1987, Schmidt became a member of the 500 home run club, hitting a three-run shot off of Don Robinson.

He decided not to play, but he did participate in the opening ceremony of the 1989 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in uniform.

Schmidt is one of only three players (along with Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.) to win 10 Gold Gloves and hit at least 500 home runs, and is the only infielder ever to do so.

In 1995, on his first ballot, Schmidt was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum with what was at the time the fourth highest voting percentage ever, 96.52%.

[28] In 2015, Schmidt was named one of the Phillies "Franchise Four" as voted by the fans, along with Steve Carlton, Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts.

In his 2006 book, Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer's Search for the Soul of Baseball, he somewhat recanted that statement, saying that he understood the desire to get a competitive advantage even though he could not condone breaking the rules to do so.

In October 2003, Schmidt was named the manager of the Phillies' Single A Florida State League affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers.

Schmidt also provided periodic commentary (albeit, taped prior to the playoffs) for ABC during the 1988 National League Championship Series.

Schmidt spent the 1990 season as a color analyst with the Phillies broadcast team on the now-defunct PRISM network, where he was partnered with play-by-play announcer Jim Barniak, and was known to be very candid and honest with his commentary.

[33] In conjunction with the Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation, the City of Philadelphia, and Independence Blue Cross, the Phillies placed 12 sunblock dispensers around Citizens Bank Park in May 2017.

It has raised a total of over $2.5 million for charities including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, American Cancer Society, and Cleveland Clinic.