On the May 3, 1976 cover of Sports Illustrated, Mike Schmidt was exploding onto the national scene as the Phillies’ young power-hitting third baseman. Fresh off tying a major league record with 11 home runs in April — and just weeks after smashing four homers in one game on April 17 — Schmidt was quickly becoming must-watch baseball. In true Past Our Prime fashion, we dove right into that magical spring of ’76 when one of the greatest third basemen ever was just starting to flex.

We also broke down the classic “Clouts and Outs” article, which perfectly captured Schmidt and Dave Kingman as the ultimate “power whiffers” — guys who could crush the ball a mile but paid for it with mountains of strikeouts. Schmidt was brutally honest with himself about it, while Kingman basically said, “This is who I am — deal with it.” Classic 1970s baseball drama at its finest.

Our special guest, Jamie Moyer, brought the episode to life with great stories about facing Schmidt. The man who won 269 career games and pitched brilliantly at age 45 for the 2008 World Series champion Phillies had nothing but respect for Schmidt’s longevity, work ethic, and professionalism. Hearing Moyer talk about competing against one of the all-time greats was pure Past Our Prime gold as was when he reflected back on when he took a no-hitter into the 9th innings against... his home town Phillies.

We also touched on everything else from that issue — the Kentucky Derby trail, wild NHL playoff violence, Olympic hopefuls, beanball wars, and even the rise of Sportianity in sports. Another fun trip back to the spring of 1976 with plenty of laughs, memories, and great conversation. That’s exactly why we do this show!

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