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Life after baseball still didn’t include sun and skin awareness.
When he retired in 1989, he bought a 43-foot Wellcraft
Portifino, spending as much time as he could on the water in
Florida (he now has a Viking and spends time golfing as well).
It wasn’t until 2013 when he discovered he was gravely ill that
Schmidt and his doctors concluded that sustained time in the
sun had caught up with him. By then, the cancer had spread
to various parts of his body. This wasn’t an easy situation
for the slugger — he needed multiple surgeries along with
radiation and chemotherapy.
Just as he never heard chatter about skin cancer in baseball,
Schmidt realized his fellow boaters were committing
dangerous errors not preparing for time in the sun.
“I don’t see boaters making specific sun protection mistakes
other than ignoring the damage the sun can do,” Schmidt
says. “Most people just don’t take it seriously. Of course the
use of sunscreen is up, more people know about skin cancer
and want to use protection, but they are too lazy to stay on
top of it.”
He bemoans the people on boats, at beaches, or by swimming
pools who bake in the sun to get a tan. “The cost of constant
sun exposure without sun protection can be devastating.”
Schmidt’s advice for boaters starts with the fundamentals.
“Start by equipping your boat with shading in all possible
high sun areas — I have an electric Sureshade that protects
my cockpit area so we can get out of the sun. Keep a supply of
sunscreen products on board, and keep long sleeve tee shirts
available, especially for kids.”
His harrowing experience with melanoma ignited a passion
to educate others. Schmidt’s as focused on it as he was when
in the batter’s box or on the field — and he was far from
being a slacker in either department. (That’s why he’s in
Cooperstown, after all.)
With passion for the project, it makes sense that the former
number 20 looks out for the city that made him number
one. Philadelphia provided so many baseball memories for
Schmidt that he wants to keep his fans safe.
“My work in the fight against melanoma is in partnership
with the Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation. We
are doing many exciting things to promote early detection,
education, and protection.” He notes, “The most exciting
element is working to make Philadelphia the first Sun Safe
city.”
Schmidt, whose cancer scans are now clear, also hosts charity
fishing tournaments in Florida.
His fame on the baseball field helps him get his message about
melanoma across to people that might not listen otherwise,
but even with that advantage, this legend has had a few vexing
moments spreading the word.
“It hasn’t been hard, but you can’t get everyone to buy into the
idea that the sun’s rays are harmful,” Schmidt shares. “Just
like global warming, people don’t have time for it, they may
believe it but won’t do anything about it.”
Schmidt knows that boaters, sports fans, and ballplayers
will all continue to spend time soaking up sun. To stay in
the game, he’s looking forward to a time when the threat of
melanoma has been ejected.
For more information, visit melanomafoundation.com,
winnerscirclecharities.org, and sunsafeboating.com
Courtesy Mike Schmidt
Courtesy Mike Schmidt
Continued from p21
/melanomafoundation.com
/winnerscirclecharities.org
/sunsafeboating.com