doubles and a single in 18 at bats), The Pittsburgh Pirates stole 15 bases against him, en route to winning the series in seven games. 1910 and 1911 seasons Before the 1910 season, Schmidt purchased a saloon in Fort Smith. During the season, he was overtaken by Stanage as the Tigers' primary catcher, with Stanage starting 83 games at the position to 54 for Schmidt. Schmidt's batting average improved to .259, and he hit a career-high seven triples. In January 1911, Schmidt sent a lengthy letter published by the Detroit Free Press complaining of mistreatment by manager Hughie Jennings. The letter asserted: "If ever a catcher has worked under a handicap, I certainly have. I have had a manager to fight, besides the other clubs and he has done everything in his power to put me out of baseball. . . . When the manager and catcher speak only when absolutely necessary, during a whole season; when a catcher that has worked as hard as I did in three seasons, pennant winning seasons, and then is benched for half a season, for nothing more than a personal dislike and when a man has given a team his best efforts and worked with a broken ankle, crippled hands, disabled in other ways, something no other man would have done and then gets hooks thrown into him, it doesn't make him feel the best in the world. . . . I think I have got a rotten deal in Detroit. I like Detroit and its people. They have all treated me well. . . . but Jennings and I can never get along." Jennings announced during spring training that Schmidt would be the backup to Stanage. During the 1911 season, Schmidt appeared in 28 games, only seven as the Tigers' starting catcher, and compiled a .283 batting average in 46 at bats. He appeared in his final major league game on October 8, 1911. The Detroit Free Press in October 1911 wrote: "Schmidt, who reported with a sore arm, has done practically no work this season, beyond warming up the pitchers and some very useful pinch hitting when called upon." Russo wrote that "Schmidt was worn down from abusing his body throughout the years." In January 1912, the Tigers dealt Schmidt to the minor league Providence Grays. In six major league seasons, Schmidt appeared in 477 games, 410 of them as Detroit's