''I feel like I could ask the Phillies to keep me on to add to my statistics, but my love for the game won't let me do that.''

Schmidt really doesn't need to add to his career statistics. His home run total ranks seventh on the career list, and his 10 Gold Gloves at third rank second to Brooks Robinson's 16 for the Baltimore Orioles.

Only Babe Ruth, Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Mantle reached 500 homers in fewer times at bat than Schmidt.

The Phillies' manager, Nick Leyva, said Schmidt's retirement was unrelated to the major shoulder surgery the player underwent last September. 'Can't Do It Anymore'

''He told me last night that it wasn't his shoulder or his elbow or his back; it is not a physical thing,'' Leyva said. ''He just thinks that he can't do it anymore.''

Schmidt had only 2 hits in last 41 times at bat and led the Phillies in errors with 8, making costly miscues in the club's last two games at San Francisco, both of them losses.

''This is something I've been mulling over and praying about for a week or so,'' Schmidt explained. ''I gave it some time to turn around on the field. I looked for signs and reasons every night to continue as a player, but I just couldn't find them.''