Jason David Schmidt is at his best when he runs his fastball in on the hands of batters. With the potential of being ranking among the elite starters, Jason has made huge strides in his game. To keep his hitters off balance, he can also throw a change-up. Selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 8th round (206th overall) of the 1991 amateur entry draft, he made his big league debut on April 28, 1995 , at Los Angeles . He graduated from Kelso (WA) High School, where he played baseball, football, and basketball. He was named Washington's Gatorade State Player of Year and All-State MVP in baseball in 1991 and also tossed prep no-hitter as senior. After completing his graduation, he was offered a scholarship to University of Arizona , but he chose to play baseball on a professional level. Since 2001, he has been pitching for the San Francisco Giants. Before joining the Giants, he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1996-2001) and Atlanta Braves (1995-1996). In his rookie season only he helped the Braves win the World Series in 1995 despite of pitching in nine games the entire season. In the Pirates uniform, Schmidt was there on a losing team each season, due to which the Pirates traded him along with John Vander Wal to the San Francisco Giants before the trade deadline. As a Giant, apparently he enjoyed more success on the field. In his split season between the Pirates and the Giants, he combined to record 13-7 with 4.07 ERA in 25 starts. In 2002, when the Giants made a World Series appearance, Jason earned 4-3 victory in Game 1, registering 3 runs over 5.2 innings. In 2003, posted one of finest all-around years at his position since the Giants became a San Francisco franchise. Jason was an All-Star as well as won senior circuit ERA crown with 2.34 mark and led majors in opponents avg. (.200). In 2004, for the second consecutive season, he made the All-Star team by posting career-high 18 victories, while establishing career bests with 225.0 innings and 251 strikeouts. For this accomplishment he was voted the TSN Pitcher of the Year in the National League. |
