Come fly with me: Clarke Schmidt's father pilots the Yankees' flight to Tampa
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – “This is your captain speaking,’’ and it wasn’t Aaron Judge addressing the Yankees on their charter flight to Tampa International Airport.
It was Capt. Dwight Schmidt, the father of pitcher Clarke Schmidt.
The Yankees’ right-hander mentioned to a few teammates that his dad, a Delta pilot, would be flying the team’s charter from New York, as arranged by the airline.
And once the team boarded the plane, “it kind of spread like wildfire,’’ said Schmidt, whose father is a longtime Delta pilot.
Prior to that, Capt. Schmidt flew F-18s as a Naval Aviator in the Marine Corps.
Many of Clarke Schmidt’s teammates had the opportunity to view the cockpit, and “that was my first time (getting) a chance to see the inner workings, how it all goes,’’ Schmidt said.
Afterward, teammates “were texting me, saying it was really cool getting to see some things’’ they wouldn’t have ordinarily seen,’’ said Clarke Schmidt, quickly adding that everything was within FAA regulations.
Aaron Boone had previously “flown’’ a flight simulator with Capt. Schmidt guiding him. “I did volunteer’’ to take the helm, based on that experience, the manager said with a smile.
“He’s an engaging, really cool dude,’’ Boone said of Capt. Schmidt. “He gave everyone a good rundown’’ before the flight.
Capt. Schmidt has previously chartered the Yankees, including the 2021 trip to Iowa for the Field of Dreams game, though his son was rehabbing from an injury and did not make that trip.
Clarke Schmidt said that the trip to Tampa was “probably one of our better flights as far as turbulence goes,’’ though Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta might not have agreed.
Due to Peralta’s known fear of flying, “we tried to baptize him by fire,’’ offering a visit to the cockpit.
During the flight, “I think there was less rocking than I normally see from him at his seat. I think he was a bit more calm,’’ said Clarke Schmidt, due to start Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Some of the guys were saying it was good having my dad flying because he had a little more invested (in the flight), so he felt a little safer,’’ Schmidt said of Peralta.“Hopefully, we took some steps with Wandy.’’
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt's dad pilots Yankees' flight to Tampa
