Curt Schilling retires!

[j41181]

Thanks for the memories!

Schilling retires after 3 World Series titles

 

[PhillyBirds]

By the raw, traditional numbers, Schilling is a borderline Hall of Famer, like 216 wins. However, Schilling really shined in the postseason, putting up some of the greatest fall numbers in history: 11-2 in postseason play, best ever, and three World Series rings.

He has fewer wins than Tommy John (288) Bert Blyleven (287), and they very recently were denied entry, so we shall see. This might also warrant a look at other borderline guys like Jamie Moyer who has 246 wins and is not yet retired.

Buster Olney and Peter Gammons of ESPN both gave Schilling a vote of confidence, it'll be interesting to see.Edited by: PhillyBirds

 

[white is right]

He would most likely be a Veterans Committee selection off those numbers. Now because of the 5 man rotation and Schilling not being linked to PED usage his numbers will probably be looked at in a better light than a traditional 216 game winner. I know Jim Bunning made it to the hall with similar numbers, but he had to wait for the Veterans Committee. He might have to wait for Mussina and Schmoltz to get in before he is considered.

 

[Don Wassall]

I don't seeSchilling as HOF material. 216 wins in a 20 year career isn'tnearly impressive enough, even in the five-man starter era. His postseason record was 19-19. He never won a Cy Young Award. Some of his career stats areexcellent due to his longevity, but there's too many pitchers who had similar or better careers who haven't gotten in -- Blyleven, Kaat and John all had roughly 70 more career wins than Schilling and only Blyleven has a shot to get in some day. Jack Morris is another who won't get in. Even the now completely forgotten Frank Tanana had 240 career wins.


Schilling was one of those rare white athletes who seemed to always get a pretty good press, and a fair amount of it too, due apparently to his personality and glibness. I still remember him sitting in the Phillies dugout with a towel completely covering his face while Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams was struggling in the '93 World Series against Toronto. That ticked me off at the time, I can only imagine what Williams and the rest of the team thought of it.

 

[PhillyBirds]

Schilling was one of those rare white athletes who seemed to always get a pretty good press, and a fair amount of it too, due apparently to his personality and glibness. I still remember him sitting in the Phillies dugout with a towel completely covering his face while Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams was struggling in the '93 World Series against Toronto. That ticked me off at the time, I can only imagine what Williams and the rest of the team thought of it.

Exactly what I was thinking too, Don. Schilling has a tremendous amount of interaction with the press, which I think ingratiated him with the likes of the Baseball Writers Association of America (the guys who vote for the HoF). I think the people who truly bring in to question his credentials are those who disregard the "intangibles" and look solely at the numbers.

As was evidenced before, players who were less "popular" like Blyleven, or Tommy John who is best known for his unique surgery, are less trendy picks with the BBWAA.

Gotta correct you though, Don. Schilling was, in fact, 11-2 in 133.1 postseason innings, finishing with a 2.23 earned run average and four complete games.

Regardless, I think he's borderline.

 

[Don Wassall]

Gotta correct you though, Don. Schilling was, in fact, 11-2 in 133.1 postseason innings, finishing with a 2.23 earned run average and four complete games.

Regardless, I think he's borderline.

You're right, I misread the stats last night. Thanks for the correction.

 

[foreverfree]

"Trendy picks". I like that term, PhillyBirds.

Speaking of Tommy John (and this might be the second time I've asked this on CF), I believe he has used up his BBWAA HOF eligibility, having been retired 20 years. Did Tommy ever pull 60% of the vote in any *single* year on the writers ballot, which would make him eligible through the VC? baseball-reference.com has not been helpful in answering that question.

John

 

[Don Wassall]

Tommy John received 31.7% of the vote in 2009, which was his final year of eligibility. That's the highest percentage he received in 15 years on the ballot.

 

[foreverfree]

This year was John's best year for vote getting????

Even with 288 wins, the most of any non-300-game winner??? Obviously non-trendy, he.

John