JUPITER, Fla. — Just in time for summer, former Philadelphia Phillies baseball star Mike Schmidt spoke with WPTV anchor Shannon Cake about the next inning in life.
Cake caught up with, arguably, the greatest third basemen to play the game. As he walked the infield at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, he talked about what he's focused on right now.
He started by sharing his journey battling melanoma and said preventing future cases is now his top priority.
"In my young life, that's when I destroyed my skin," he said. "It all happened when I was young. I never wore sunscreen on the baseball field."
He now spends time convincing kids and adults that sun-safe clothing, sunscreen and skin checkups are cool.
"More than anything I think that's part of the mission, to get the kids into sunscreen and get them used to using it," Schmidt said. "That’s where you really have to score if you're someone like me. Get the kids to understand that as they grow up, sunscreen has got be a part of their life."
Schmidt said his dream is to open a string of clinics where anyone can walk in and get a free skin assessment at any time. That, he said, would be an incredible legacy.
