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{{short description|American baseball player (born 1973)}}
{{for|the photographer|Jason Schmidt (photographer)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Jason Schmidt
|image=0308schmidt.jpg
|caption=Schmidt with the Los Angeles Dodgers
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1973|1|29}}
|birth_place=[[Lewiston, Idaho]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 28
|debutyear=1995
|debutteam=Atlanta Braves
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=August 5
|finalyear=2009
|finalteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=130–96
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.96
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=1,758
|teams=
*[[Atlanta Braves]] ({{mlby|1995}}–{{mlby|1996}})
*[[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|2001}})
*[[San Francisco Giants]] ({{mlby|2001}}–{{mlby|2006}})
*[[Los Angeles Dodgers]] ({{mlby|2007}}, {{mlby|2009}})
|highlights=
* 3× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2003]], [[2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2004]], [[2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2006]])
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders|NL ERA leader]] (2003)
* [[San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame]]
}}
'''Jason David Schmidt''' (born January 29, 1973), is an American former [[Major League Baseball]] [[pitcher]]. In his career, he has played for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (2007–2009), [[San Francisco Giants]] (2001–06), [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] (1996–2001) and [[Atlanta Braves]] (1995–96), by whom he had been drafted in the eighth round, 206th overall, of the 1991 draft.

==Career==

===High school===
Schmidt attended [[Kelso High School (Washington)|Kelso High School]] in [[Kelso, Washington]], where he played football and basketball in addition to baseball. In 1991 as a senior he tossed a [[no-hitter]], striking out 20 of 21 batters he faced. He was named Washington's Gatorade State Player of the Year and All-State MVP in baseball. He was offered a scholarship to the [[University of Arizona]] but chose to sign with the [[Atlanta Braves]] after they drafted him in the eighth round of the 1991 [[MLB Draft]].

===Early days in the Braves organization===
Schmidt made his professional debut with the [[Gulf Coast Braves]] in 1991, starting eleven games and finishing with a 3–4 record and 2.38 ERA. He worked his way through the Braves farm system from 1992 to 1995, playing with the [[Pulaski Braves]] (1992-rookie league), [[Macon Braves]] (1992-Class A), [[Durham Bulls]] (1993-Class A), [[Greenville Braves]] (1994-Class AA) and [[Richmond Braves]] (1995-Class AAA).

He made his major league debut in relief on April 28, 1995, against the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]]. Schmidt recorded his first ML victory in his first start, pitching eight scoreless innings against the [[Chicago Cubs]] on September 3, 1995.

In 1996 he started the season in the Braves rotation but also spent time in Richmond and on the disabled list before he was traded to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] (with [[Ron Wright (baseball)|Ron Wright]]) for [[Denny Neagle]] on August 30, 1996.

===Pittsburgh Pirates===
As a member of the Pirates, Schmidt won 10, 11, and 13&nbsp;games in 1997, 1998, and 1999, respectively. However, he was on a losing team each season in Pittsburgh. He was the last player on the team to wear number 42, as all of [[Major League Baseball]] retired it for [[Jackie Robinson]] in 1997, except those who chose to keep the number (e.g. Mariano Rivera). Schmidt then switched to number 22 for the remainder of his stay with the team, and wore number 29 after leaving the Pirates.

===San Francisco Giants===
[[Image:Jason Schmidt.JPG|right|thumb|200px|Schmidt pitching for the San Francisco Giants in 2006]]
Schmidt was then acquired by the Giants in 2001 with [[John Vander Wal]] in exchange for [[Armando Ríos]] and [[Ryan Vogelsong]]. Schmidt saw more success in San Francisco. Between his stints in Pittsburgh and San Francisco during the 2001 season, Schmidt compiled thirteen wins. Schmidt re-signed as a free agent with San Francisco that winter, in what would become a five-year $41&nbsp;million deal. He went on to win thirteen again in 2002 when the Giants made a [[World Series]] appearance, but lost to the [[Anaheim Angels]]. Schmidt started Games 1 and 5 of the [[2002 World Series]], picking up the win in Game 1 and a [[no-decision]] in Game 5. In 2003, he won 17&nbsp;games. Schmidt threw a 2–0 shutout in Game 1 of the 2003 NLDS, beating [[Josh Beckett]], but his team lost once again in the playoffs, this time to the [[Florida Marlins]]. Schmidt was an [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] this year as well as the league leader with a 2.34 [[earned run average]]. He placed second to [[Éric Gagné]] in the 2003 National League [[Cy Young Award]] voting.

On May 18, 2004, Jason Schmidt pitched a one-hitter against the [[Chicago Cubs]] and [[Matt Clement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=240518116|title=San Francisco at Chi Cubs – 2004-05-18 – Major League Baseball|work=Yahoo! Sports}}</ref> The Giants won the game, 1–0. This performance was overshadowed by [[Randy Johnson]]'s [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] against the [[Atlanta Braves]] the same day. Schmidt also pitched a one-hitter against the [[Boston Red Sox]] one month later on June 20, 2004. Schmidt would go on to win 18&nbsp;games in 2004 and be voted the [[Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award|TSN Pitcher of the Year]] in the National League, and fourth in Cy Young voting. He also set a San Francisco single-season record of 251 strikeouts, which was broken when [[Tim Lincecum]] struck out 265 in 2008.

[[Image:Jason Schmidt Plaque.JPG|left|thumb|200px|Plaque commemorating Schmidt's 16-strikeout game located on the public walkway behind right field at Oracle Park in San Francisco]]

On June 6, {{mlby|2006}} at [[AT&T Park]], in a 2–1 win over the [[Florida Marlins]], Schmidt pitched a complete game and struck out a career-high 16 batters. The game included a ninth-inning [[wild pitch]] that moved base runners to second and third with no outs. Schmidt struck out the final three batters of the game, starting with cleanup hitter [[Miguel Cabrera]], [[Josh Willingham]] and [[Jeremy Hermida]]. Not only did he tie the franchise all-time single-game strikeouts record originally set by [[Christy Mathewson]] of the [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]] on October 3, {{mlby|1904}}, against the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], but he also surpassed [[Gaylord Perry]]'s San Francisco Giants single-game strikeouts record, when Perry struck out 15 batters on July 22, {{mlby|1966}}, against the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]. In addition, he set AT&T Park's individual single-game strikeout record in the short history of the ballpark.

===Los Angeles Dodgers===
Schmidt signed a three-year, $47&nbsp;million deal with the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] prior to the 2007 season.<ref name="47million">{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2688596 |title=Dodgers ink Schmidt to three-year, $47M contract |access-date=2008-11-25|author=ESPN.com news services |date=2006-12-08 |work=[[ESPN.com]]}}</ref> After only three starts he missed forty-five days with a right shoulder injury before being reactivated from the [[disabled list]] (DL) on June 5. He started three games after his return from the DL, the last two created more concern. On June 18 he was returned to the DL and underwent exploratory surgery to find the cause of his ineffectiveness. The damage to his shoulder was more severe than expected and he missed the rest of the 2007 season due to injury. The Dodgers hoped to have Schmidt back before the end of the 2008 season, but manager [[Joe Torre]] later said that Schmidt would not be back, making only a few rehab starts in the minors during the year.

Heading into 2009, Schmidt was expected to compete for a spot in the Dodgers' rotation but pitched poorly in spring training and began the season once more on the disabled list. After several rehab starts in the minors, Schmidt was activated on July 20, 2009, to start against the [[Cincinnati Reds]], his first appearance in a Major League game since 2007. He went five innings, allowed three runs and picked up the win.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090720&content_id=5961816&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724082330/http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090720&content_id=5961816&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 24, 2009|title=Two years in making, Schmidt wins for LA|work=Los Angeles Dodgers}}</ref> He made another start on July 26 against the Florida Marlins, but pitched poorly and allowed five runs (four earned) in three innings and was credited with the loss.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090726&content_id=6071806&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728215549/http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090726&content_id=6071806&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 28, 2009|title=Marlins knock around Schmidt in finale|work=Los Angeles Dodgers}}</ref> He started against the Atlanta Braves on July 31 and pitched six shutout innings, getting the win as the Dodgers won 5–0. On August 7, he was again placed on the DL, with Torre speculating that Schmidt's career might be over.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hernandez |first=Dylan |title=Jason Schmidt's career might be over |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-fyi8-2009aug08,0,5948826.story |journal=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=2009-08-08 |access-date=2009-08-08}}</ref>

==Accomplishments==
* 3× [[MLBASG|MLB All-Star]] ([[2003 MLB All-Star Game|2003]]&ndash;[[2004 MLB All-Star Game|2004]], [[2006 MLB All-Star Game|2006]])

==Records==
'''San Francisco Giants Records'''
* 16 strikeouts in a single-game on June 6, {{mlby|2006}}, against the [[Florida Marlins]] at [[AT&T Park]] (tied with [[Christy Mathewson]])

==Personal life==
Schmidt and his wife Bethany have three children: Makynlee (born January 14, 2001), Mason (born January 29, 2004), and Madden (born April 22, 2007). Schmidt's mother Vicki died from brain cancer on April 22, 2003, at age 53.

==See also==
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jason Schmidt}}
{{baseballstats |mlb=121834 |espn=3180 |br=s/schmija01 |fangraphs=1131 |brm=schmid002jas}}
:

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Curt Schilling]]
| title = [[National League (baseball)|National League]] [[All-Star Game]] Starting Pitcher
| years = [[2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2003]]
| after = [[Roger Clemens]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{NL ERA champions}}
{{Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year Award}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{San Francisco Giants Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Jason}}
[[Category:Baseball players from Idaho]]
[[Category:National League All-Stars]]
[[Category:National League ERA champions]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Atlanta Braves players]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players]]
[[Category:San Francisco Giants players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Lewiston, Idaho]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast Braves players]]
[[Category:Pulaski Braves players]]
[[Category:Macon Braves players]]
[[Category:Durham Bulls players]]
[[Category:Greenville Braves players]]
[[Category:Richmond Braves players]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast Pirates players]]
[[Category:Altoona Curve players]]
[[Category:Nashville Sounds players]]
[[Category:Fresno Grizzlies players]]
[[Category:San Jose Giants players]]
[[Category:Inland Empire 66ers players]]
[[Category:Las Vegas 51s players]]
[[Category:Albuquerque Isotopes players]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Longview, Washington]]