Baseball first-ballot Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt battled opposing pitchers on a routine basis during his 17-year professional career as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. Now at age 58, he is one of the millions of men in the United States battling benign prostatic hyperplasia, also known as an enlarged prostate (which is not to be confused with or directly related to prostate cancer).

The 11,488 in attendance at Raley Field on July 18 watched a video recording on the scoreboard before the game in which Schmidt explained BPH’s symptoms and treatments, while encouraging men to schedule regular prostate examinations. The 12-time All-Star proceeded to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the River Cats played the Las Vegas 51s, all a part of promoting BPH awareness, a common problem in older men.

“If we get one guy out there to see an urologist and develop a plan [of regular visits] and that one guy is prevented from having serious prostate issues, I guess we are successful,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt explained that some men credit their BPH symptoms to old age like his father would have, and that some might think of it as personal information not to be shared with others.

According to Carol Perlman, a campaign organizer, it was never thought to launch the campaign on a larger platform such as Major League Baseball. Instead it was envisioned that Minor League venues would be a better opportunity to reach men in a calmer setting, a theory with which Schmidt agreed.

“You might get lost on the radar of Major League Baseball,” Schmidt said of their decision to stop at Raley Field. “In a smaller setting like this, it’s funny, but you tend to make a larger impact.”

Meeting a Legend
The three-time National League Most Valuable Player made himself available to sign autographs during the early stages of the game in a booth in the left-field foul ball area. For fans it was a chance to get a free autograph on a photo from one of the game’s greats.

First in line after driving three hours in traffic from San Francisco on a Friday afternoon were Darnell and Nile Earl, a father and son duo that collects sports memorabilia and enjoys traveling to different stadiums to watch baseball games.

“Mike was a hard-nosed player, a tough player,” Darnell said.

As a coach of his son’s youth baseball team, Darnell teaches his son to respect the game and understand and appreciate what former players did and went through.

“When you get a chance to meet ball players that came before, it’s an honor,” Darnell said.

Scot Benker, who is originally from Philadelphia, dawned a modern-day, Chase Utley Phillies’ shirt as he took his son Joshua, a youth baseball player in Galt, through the line to get the slugger’s John Hancock.

“My dad taught me that he was on the Phillies and that he used to watch him when he was little because he was from Philadelphia,” Joshua said.

“I remember him growing up, but I wasn’t a real big baseball fan. I knew that he is one of the bigger heroes to go through Philly,” Scot said.

Hitting the Road
Schmidt’s stop in Sacramento was among others on a tour across the county such as Long Island, N.Y., Redding, Penn., Toledo, Ohio, and Pawtucket, Mass. Over the course of his tour he has gotten the chance to visit different stadiums and has been impressed with the upgrade in facilities relative to what he remembers from his playing days.

“It’s not like I’m going to a whole bunch of old, rickety, little, dinky, stinky Minor League ballparks because there aren’t many left,” Schmidt said.

The home of the River Cats made quite an impression on him too.

“This place [Raley Field] has topped everything we’ve seen so far in terms of size and ambiance,” he said.

The 1980 World Series MVP is giving hope to men across the nation who are suffering from BPH, a battle he has been winning for more than five years thanks to prescription medicine and regular examinations.