Rookie 3rd Basemen (Ron Cey/John Hilton/Mike Schmidt )

Michael Jack Schmidt (September 27, 1949-) was one of the greatest third basemen in the history of baseball, possessing a powerful home run stroke with agility and skill defensively at third. During his 18-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies (1972-1989), Schmidt earned twelve All-Star selections due to the ten Gold Gloves and six Silver Slugger Awards he received from 1974-1989. Schmidt posted a career .955 fielding percentage with 1,591 putouts and 5,045 assists. Mike led the National League eight times in home runs, slugging percentage five times and RBI four times. Mike Schmidt was named NL Most Valuable Player on three occasions (1980, 1981, 1986) and was a member of the 1980 World Series Champion Phillies capturing that year’s World Series MVP Award after batting .381 with two home runs and seven RBI. In 1976, Mike became the tenth player in history to his four home runs in a game. Mike Schmidt ended his career with 2,234 hits, 1,595 RBI, 548 home runs and a .267 career batting average. Michael Jack Schmidt was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.

Ronald Charles “Ron” Cey (February 15, 1948-) was a star third baseman who was part of one of the most enduring infields in Major League history. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Cey in the third round of the 1968 June amateur draft. Nicknamed “The Penguin” for his slow gait by manager Tommy Lasorda, he debuted late in the 1971 season with the Dodgers (1971-1982), and with first baseman Steve Garvey, second baseman Davey Lopes, and shortstop Bill Russell appeared as the Dodgers’ starters for more than eight seasons. Cey was a six-time All-Star and MVP of the 1981 World Series. In his 17-season career, Cey was a .261 hitter with 316 home runs and 1,139 RBI.