Monday, March 23, 2009

Big Schill calls it a Career

Curt Schilling made it official today by announcing on his blog 38 pitches that he will not attempt a comeback after be out all of 2008 with shoulder issues. He pitched 23 seasons with 3 teams. Schilling also has 3 World Series rings. 

The first question everyone wants to ask is: did he juice? I would say probably not, but at this point, nothing would surprise me.

The second is: Is Curt Schilling a Hame of Famer? Here are his career numbers: 3116 strikeouts, 216-146, 3.46 ERA, and no Cy Young awards. People will point to his postseason dominance of a 11-2 record and 2.23 ERA. Those are incredible stats and as a Sox fan I am grateful for his contributions to the '04 and '07 teams.  I say Curt lacks the credentials for the Hall. I can't remember a season when Curt was, hands down, the best pitcher in baseball. I think you need a couple of season's where you can say that to make it to the Hall and Schill has none. ESPN and the Boston writers will plead his case, but in the end, Schilling was very very good, but not great. 

5 comments:

Dennis said...

I think there are a couple things that make Curt Schilling a difficult call.

One is that his first few years he was a reliever. He has 436 career starts. Compare that to Randy Johnson (586), Tom Glavine (682), Roger Clemens (707), and Greg Maddux (740). So his counting numbers are never going to match up with those guys, all of whom I would say are hall-of-fame bound.

Another thing is that for a lot of years he was on really bad teams. In '97 Schilling pitched 254 innings, struck out 319, and had a 2.97 ERA. yet he was only 17-11, and Pedro won the Cy Young with a season for the ages (1.90 ERA, 305 K's and only 158 hits in 241 innings). Then in '98 Schilling pitches 268 innings, including 15 complete games, K's 319, and has a 3.25 ERA. His record? 15-14.

Then, when he finally got on a good team, Schilling was out-shined by his own teammate. In 2001 Schilling was 22-6 with a 2.98 ERA and 293 K's. In 2002 he was 23-7 with a 3.23 ERA and over 300 K's. Both years he pitched over 250 innings. Both years Randy Johnson was just a little bit better.

I haven't decided yet if I think he should be in the Hall-of-fame, but he is certainly an interesting case.

Dan said...

I oscilate between whether I think Schilling belongs in or not. Dennis makes a fair point (as did Jason Stark)that in just about any other season Kurt would've won the Cy Young in those two seasons where he was Johnson's teammate. Those seasons by Johnson were historic.

Let's not forget the year he went 21-6 with the Sox Johan Santana beat him out with a 2.61 ERA and 265 K's.

That being said, I feel like if I have to think about it for too long, my vote is no. Perhaps time will change my mind.

Dennis said...

The best comparison might be Jack Morris. He had several outstanding seasons, but someone was always better. He was a workhorse on some bad teams, as well as some good teams. He is best known for his postseason heroics, and he doesn't have a lot of friends in the press.

Jack Morris is one of my favorite pitchers of all time. I get goosebumps just thinking about his performance in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. But he is not a Hall of Fame player. And I have come to the same conclusion about Curt Schilling.

Joe said...

The Jack Morris is a good comparison and he is going to have a hell of a time getting into the hall.

Dan said...

Jack Morris had a long career with some great moments, but his career ERA is nearly 4. That's not a HOFer.