"I was never called Michael Jack by my parents, ever," said Schmidt, who was at Citizens Bank Park last night as the Phils, home for the first time since Kalas' passing, honored the broadcaster. "In fact, my middle name was never used. So Harry Kalas labeled me that."
Kalas, in fact, called every one of Schmidt's 548 career homers. Of course, he also described 1,883 strikeouts over Schmidt's 17-year career. But, according to the 59-year-old, one of the reasons Kalas was so beloved by the players was because he depicted both successes and failures in a similar light.
"Even after a guy just struck out four times in a row . . . he could make you look good," Schmidt said. "I remember a night I did that. I quite honestly hit the 13th pitch for a home run, and I think Harry had his audience ready for that."
Of course, after nearly 40 years in Philadelphia, the audience hung on Kalas' every word. It is why there's been a weeklong public mourning that carried over into last night's game and certainly today's public viewing. Even Schmidt, perhaps the greatest Phillie ever, admitted there was no bigger sports figure in this town.
"A guy working in the booth describing the game to the fans . . . has now established himself as even being bigger than the players that played the game," Schmidt said. "I'm a pretty big name over the years in Philadelphia sports history, as are a few of the other Phillies, and other teams had great players. I can't imagine a guy that could be bigger than Harry Kalas."
Schmidt went one step further.
"Harry Kalas, if you can look past Ben Franklin and William Penn, may have been the greatest person to grace Philadelphia in the history of the city," he said.
