Former Boston Red Sox catcher Dave Schmidt, who played for the team in 1981, died on Monday at 69 years old.
Schmidt only played 15 games in his big league career, but he spent eight seasons in the Red Sox organization. The Red Sox drafted him in the second-round of the 1975 MLB June Amateur Draft from Mission Viejo High School in California.
In his 15 games in the big leagues, he slashed .238/.347/.405 and hit two home runs. Even though his time in the big leagues did not last long, he was able to eventually play in The Show after seven seasons in the minor leagues after high school.
Schmidt spent time with Rich Gedman coming up through the minor leagues. Gedman made his debut in 1980, a year before Schmidt. However, Gedman moved to be the better player, finishing as the Rookie of the Year runner-up in 1981. Gedman went on to be a two-time All-Star.
In 1982, Schmidt was back in the minor leagues. According to what he told Bill Nowlin of the Society for American Baseball Research, the team had given up on him by that point. He also noted that his arm was “gone” by then.
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Schmidt did not end up becoming the player the Red Sox hoped he would when they drafted him in the second-round. However, he did show promise in the minor leagues.
He had a .806 OPS in the minor leagues throughout his career and hit 71 home runs. It’s no easy feat to reach the big leagues, and Schmidt was able to do it despite joining the Red Sox at a time when they had no shortage of talented catchers.
