Schilling Announces His Retirement

Curt Schilling Retires

29sports.com

Neil Becker

Curt Schilling will always be best remembered for his performance with the Boston Red Sox when in the 2004 post season with blood oozing through his sock, he courageously pitched game 6 against the New York Yankees only days after undergoing ankle surgery. During that year’s World Series his reputation as a bulldog pitcher grew when he took the hill for game 2 and was lights out despite pitching with once again a bloody sock.

“It was freezing, raining, cold as hell and the guy just had open surgery on his ankle,” Boston designated hitter David Ortiz said about the border line hall of fame pitcher who retired on Monday after a stellar 20 year career. “A lot of people come up to me and ask me, ‘Hey, he was bleeding for real?’ I’ll tell you what, man. He showed me a lot of guts. I had a lot of respect for Curt.”

Schilling, who began his storied career in a Baltimore Orioles uniform in 1988 by facing hall of famer Wade Boggs and getting him to ground out, went on to register a 216-146 record with a respectable 3.46 ERA. The time of year where this 42 year-old shined most was during the post season where this husky right hander posted a dominating 11-2 record with a tidy 2.23 ERA. In 2001 when with the Arizona Diamondbacks he along with teammate Randy Johnson were lights out in both winning the World Series MVP as Arizona won the World Series.

In 2003 as a free agent Schilling couldn’t resist the challenge of leaving Arizona and coming to Boston to help end their 86 year World Series drought.

“I think in the end, we really didn’t need to sell it,” Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein who lured him to Boston said. “The Red Sox were prefect for him, because he likes the big stage, the history of the game. He likes to be the centre of attention so it was a good fit.” 

After playing a major role in helping the Sox win another World Series title in 2007, Schilling who ironically enough was drafted by the Sox in 1986 missed the entire 2008 campaign due to a serious shoulder injury.  Faced with the tough decision of whether to undergo extensive rehab or call it a career, he decided that he wanted to spend more time with his family.

“I talked to him about a week ago,” Dr. Craig Morgan who did the operation last June said. “He said his shoulder felt fine. He’s just enjoying being with his family. And the other thing he told me was he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to put the time commitment and do four to six hours of exercises every day, which is what’s required to come back and pitch.”

Red Sox manager Terry Francona who managed Schilling during his days with the Philadelphia Phillies, said that his pitcher would be totally focused and wouldn’t talk before a game.

“The surlier, the better,” Francona said. “The few times where he did speak, I remember thinking, ‘He’s not ready to pitch.”

During his career Schilling pitched for Baltimore, Philadelphia, Houston Astros, Arizona and Boston.

No Comments Yet

No comments yet.

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI