Curt Schilling announced his retirement on Monday the only way he knew how – on his blog.
The 42-year-old right-hander said on his blog he’s leaving after 23 years with “zero regrets.” Schilling missed all of last season with a shoulder injury after signing a one-year, $8 million contract.
“The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime,” he wrote.
Schilling had surgery last June and had said he might come back in the middle of this season. He was not under contract for this season. He made no reference to his injury on his blog, 38pitches.com.
Schilling won a World Series with Arizona in 2001 and with Boston in 2004 and 2007.
So, I guess I’ll throw out the obligatory, “does he belong in the Hall of Fame?” question.
And the answer is definitely “yes.” He finished with a 216-146 overall record, helped his club win three World Series titles and had 3,116 strikeouts, which is the 14th most in baseball history. The guy was a pain in the ass when it came to giving his opinions and raised some eyebrows with his bloody sock moment. But Schilling was one of the better pitchers of his time and deserves Hall of Fame nomination.
Too bad Hienz ketchup doesn’t have a Team…he made them famous…Bloody sock my ass..
Are you sure? A guy that averages just over 10 wins a year in the regular season and has never won a Cy Young? If you think this guy belongs, I look forward to your column on Andy Pettitte being a definite hall of famer.
Pettitte has a better record (215-127), a better winning% at .629, an 18-7 postseason record, one more ring, and a comparable ERA considering Pettitte (3.89) played nearly all of his career in the AL and Schilling (3.46) played most of his in the NL. Schilling only reached double digit wins in 9 out of 20 seasons. Pettitte has reached double digits in 13 out of 14 and has reached 15 or more victories the same number of times as Schilling, in 6 fewer seasons. Pettitte also finished in the top 10 Cy Young voting more times than Schill.
Most people I talk to do not feel Pettitte belongs in the hall. I think he’s got more work to do, but so does Schilling.
I hear you on the Schilling W’s per season. But when you look at his body of work, it’s solid:
6-time All-Star
3-time World Series Champ
14th all-time in Ks
80th all-time in wins
World Series MVP
I don’t think Curt Schilling was a dominant pitcher by any means. But he has enough stats to get him in, in my opinion.
I think Shilling is a tireless self-promoting bag of wind. As for Petite, he’s going to get bit by the steriod issue I think…Funny, he is the anti-Shilling when it comes to self-promotion
Shilling is a self promoting bag of wind able to comment on anything…He’s like the movie star who tells you who to vote for but has never voted himself.
My guess is that he knows Bono.
YES – He should.
Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio blew away everybody and anybody that challenged him this week.
If you don’t like him – fine.But don’t let that influence you.
The last sentence of this article says all you need to know when it comes to putting this guy in the hall. “But Schilling was one of the better pitchers of his time”. Not one of the best pitchers, just better. Is that what the hall of fame means now? The hall of pretty good? It took this guy nearly 20 seasons to get to 200 victories. That’s got nothing to do with like or dislike. The only stat he’s dominant in is K’s which means if you put this guy in, put Bert Blyleven in as well since he has about 70 more W’s and 585 more K’s in only 2 more seasons, playing for some god awful teams. You can’t even use the Koufax argument with this guy because he retired in his prime at the age of 30 in the middle of his best seasons, not some old fat tub of shit that can’t stay away from the buffet table.
C’mon guys…get real and stop the madness. He was a good pitcher with some nice stats, far from one of the all-time greats.