A tremendous third baseman, Mike Schmidt had a powerful arm and was especially talented at fielding short grounders barehanded. His 404 assists in 1974 remain a record for third basemen. Schmidt also filled in at shortstop and first base when needed.

In 1980, Schmidt elevated his game to astonishing heights, leading the league in home runs with 48 (a Phillies single-season record, lasting 26 years until Ryan Howard broke it in 2006) by a margin of 13, and winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in a unanimous vote. The Phillies reached the World Series and, for the first time in team history, won it, defeating the Kansas City Royals, led by none other than George Brett. Schmidt was selected as MVP of the World Series, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs.

Over his career Schmidt set a vast array of hitting and fielding records. In addition to his MVP Awards, Schmidt won ten Gold Gloves, led the league in home runs eight times, in RBI four times, OPS five times, and walks four times. He was named to twelve All-Star teams. Schmidt finished his career with 548 home runs and 1,595 RBI, two of the many Phillies career records he holds.

In 1995, Schmidt was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with what was then the 4th-highest percentage ever, 96.52% (Nolan Ryan and George Brett surpassed his percentage in 1999).