Schilling retires. HOF?

[FirstTimer]

BOSTON (AP) - Curt Schilling retired from baseball Monday after a career in which he won World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the game's most dominant pitchers and grittiest competitors.

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.

Schilling won a World Series with Arizona in 2001 and with Boston in 2004 and 2007.

In his first year in Boston in 2004, he helped the team win its first World Series in 86 years, pitching Game 2 of a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals after a surgical procedure to suture a loose tendon in his right ankle and with blood seeping through his sock. The sock is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 1986 draft, but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles before playing for the big league club. He pitched for the Orioles, Houston, Philadelphia and Arizona before being wooed to the Red Sox by general manager Theo Epstein.

Schilling, one of the sport's hard throwers, finishes his career with 3,116 strikeouts, 14th most in baseball history, a 216-146 record and a 3.46 ERA.

He was even better in the postseason, with an 11-2 record, the best of any pitcher with at least 10 decisions, and 2.23 ERA in 19 career starts.

Hall of Famer?

 

[Gonzo]

Buster Olney's sayin' no, but I'm sayin' yes. This guy has been stellar even in his recent years.

One could say that without Schilling, do Arizona and Boston take home Series Wins?

 

[Leftwich]

3 Rings and in his prime he had some seriously nasty stuff. He is a great leader on a team too. I think he deserves to be in the HOF. I don't think he'll be vote.in his first year but he will make it in eventually.

 

[Senser81]

Yes. Schilling is like a better version of Don Drysdale. And if Drysdale is in...

 

[killgod]

Buster Olney's sayin' no, but I'm sayin' yes. This guy has been stellar even in his recent years.

One could say that without Schilling, do Arizona and Boston take home Series Wins?

zona probably not, boston maybe.

 

[Gonzo]

There mere fact that you had to think about it alludes to the man's greatness :lol:

 

[ralaw]

Everyone's always putting a premium on championships and Schilling was at his best (among the best all-time) come playoff time, so he should get in.

 

[NAHSTE]

To me, yes, he was. How many Ws would he have if he wasn't on those dreadful Philadelphia teams of the mid-late 90s?

I won't be surprised to see him get left out though. His borderline numbers combined with his oustpoken-ness might do him in.


edit-14th most strikeouts all time and best post-season record for those with 10+ appearances should warrant an induction. Those are two numbers that strongly support Shill's argument.

 

[FirstTimer]

Buster Olney's sayin' no, but I'm sayin' yes. This guy has been stellar even in his recent years.

One could say that without Schilling, do Arizona and Boston take home Series Wins?

Olney was on SportsCenter this morning and said he'd vote for him.

 

[Blick]

I would definitely put him in.

 

[Senser81]

Had to mention what I heard on Mike & Mike this morning. Eric Kasilius was pro-Schilling/anti-Blyleven for the HOF, so he said that Blyleven never won 20 games in a season (which in itself was wrong...Blyleven won 20 games in 1973)...but he failed to point out that Blyleven won 71 more games than Schilling (287 v. 216) while pitching only 2 more seasons than Schilling (22 v. 20).

How come baseball HOF arguments are the most illogical arguments in sports?

 

[FirstTimer]

B/c comparing players across eras is tough enough, let alone when you are a blowhard dumbass working for ESPN.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Yes.

 

[Primetime]

Gotta say yes. Clutch pitcher with 3 rings.

 

[NAHSTE]

Yes.

SMH at this. Don't care if his foot fell off in that game, doesn't make him a HOFer. IF he makes it to the HOF it won't be because his foot started bleeding once in a game. One of the more overrated performances of all time IMO.

 

[Senser81]

Yeah, no way Schilling's ketchup sock game tops some of Jack Morris' postseason performances.

 

[FirstTimer]

SMH at this. Don't care if his foot fell off in that game, doesn't make him a HOFer. IF he makes it to the HOF it won't be because his foot started bleeding once in a game. One of the more overrated performances of all time IMO.

I think it helps though if for nothing else than a "moment". We always talk about Heisman winners and other winners or awards having "moments". Ruth's called shot, Puckett's leaing catch, Fisk's HR. It's a tangible moment in a photo you can look at and connect with the 11-2 postseason record, plus it occurred during one of the, if not THE, greatest comeback in the history of the game and helped the Red Sox to win their first Series in 86 years. Within the context of the arguement I don't think it's overrated.

But I'm a Red Sox fan so take this for it's worth.

 

[dell71]

Nope needs more wins

Sandy Koufax disagrees with you. (not that Schill is equivalent to Koufax but...you get my point)

Yeah, no way Schilling's ketchup sock game tops some of Jack Morris' postseason performances.

Agreed.

Had to mention what I heard on Mike & Mike this morning. Eric Kasilius was pro-Schilling/anti-Blyleven for the HOF, so he said that Blyleven never won 20 games in a season (which in itself was wrong...Blyleven won 20 games in 1973)...but he failed to point out that Blyleven won 71 more games than Schilling (287 v. 216) while pitching only 2 more seasons than Schilling (22 v. 20).

How come baseball HOF arguments are the most illogical arguments in sports?

I'm still anti-Blyleven (we've had that discussion before). As far as the 71 more wins goes, we all know Schill has been injury prone so even though he only pitched 2 fewer seasons, he started about 250 fewer games (Blyleven 685, Schill 436). I'm not so impressed by 71 more wins in 250 more starts.

Ketchup-sock game & my Yankee loyalties aside, I think Schill gets in.

 

[Senser81]

I'm still anti-Blyleven (we've had that discussion before). As far as the 71 more wins goes, we all know Schill has been injury prone so even though he only pitched 2 fewer seasons, he started about 250 fewer games (Blyleven 685, Schill 436). I'm not so impressed by 71 more wins in 250 more starts.

So you are rewarding Schilling for being injury-prone and penalizing Blyleven for being durable? 71 wins seems to be a pretty significant difference in their amount of wins, no?

 

[dell71]

So you are rewarding Schilling for being injury-prone and penalizing Blyleven for being durable? 71 wins seems to be a pretty significant difference in their amount of wins, no?

Not rewarding Schilling, but not penalizing Blyleven either. 71 wins is a pretty significant amount taken in a vacuum. When measured against 250 additional starts, not so much. It seems he didn't do so much with all that durability.