Yanks pitcher's dad pilots team's flight to Tampa

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The New York Yankees‘ charter flight to Florida on Thursday had a familiar name in the cockpit: Captain Schmidt, as in Delta pilot Dwight Schmidt, the father of Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt.

“It was a lot of fun,” Clarke Schmidt said before Friday night’s game at the Tampa Bay Rays. “I mentioned it to a few guys and then we got there, it kind of like spread like wildfire. It was kind of like interactive a little bit. A lot of guys got to see things they never got to see as far as like going up to the cockpit. Guys got to see some cool things.”

Clarke Schmidt has flown with his father before but said it was first time he has been in the cockpit with him.

Dwight Schmidt has occasionally been assigned to fly the Yankees.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone volunteered to join the flight crew.

“We were in Atlanta, I got to go on a flight simulator where he was my trainer,” Boone said. “That was pretty cool.”

Clarke Schmidt said it was probably one of the team’s better flights as far as turbulence goes, but that his teammates were hypercritical on the landing a little bit.

“He mentioned that we had crosswind,” Clarke Schmidt said. “But for the most part it was smooth sailing.”

Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to start Saturday night’s game against the Rays.