Curt Schilling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Curt Schilling

Boston Red Sox — No. 38
Starting Pitcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 7, 1988 for the Baltimore Orioles
Selected MLB statistics
(through 2006)
Record     207-138
ERA     3.44
Strikeouts     3015
Teams

    Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American Major League Baseball player, a right-handed starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks following the 2003 season.

    Schilling has won League Championship titles with three dark-horse teams; in 1993 with the Philadelphia Phillies (who overcame a last-place finish in the National League East in '92), in 2001 with the Diamondbacks (who became the youngest expansion team to win a title) and in 2004 with the Red Sox (who overcame a 0-3 deficit against the New York Yankees). He also went on to win World Series titles with two of them: the 2001 Diamondbacks and the 2004 Red Sox.

    Contents

    [edit] Career

    [edit] Early MLB Career (1988-2000)

    Schilling was born in Anchorage, Alaska. He began his professional career as a prospect in the Boston farm system, but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1988 for Mike Boddicker. His major league debut was with the Orioles (1988-1990), he spent one year with the Houston Astros (1991), and then spent more than eight seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (1992-2000).

    Schilling was one of the key factors in the Phillies' pennant run in 1993. In that year, Schilling went 16-7 with a 4.02 ERA and 186 strikeouts. Schilling then led the Phillies to an upset against the two-time defending National League champion Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series. Although he didn't get any decisions during his two appearances in the six game series, Schilling's 1.69 ERA and 19 strikeouts were still enough to earn him the 1993 NLCS Most Valuable Player Award. The Phillies went on to battle the defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. Schilling was the losing pitcher in Game 1 but he redeemed himself greatly in Game 5. With the Phillies facing elimination the day after losing a bizarre 15-14 contest at home in Veterans Stadium, Schilling pitched a five-hit shutout that the Phillies won 2-0. Unfortunately, Schilling would soon watch helplessly from the dugout as the Phillies lost another heartbreaker to the Blue Jays. In Game 6, Mitch Williams, who was the losing pitcher in the infamous fourth game, gave up a three run home run to Joe Carter to clinch the Blue Jays' second straight World Championship. Apparently, Schilling was so uncomfortable when Williams was on the mound, that he was frequently caught on camera burying his face in a white towel, an act which upset his teammates.

    The Phillies slipped into mediocrity in the years after that, despite Schilling being the ace of the staff. He recovered from arm miseries to strike out more than 300 batters in 1997, and 1998. He soon began voicing his displeasure with Phillies management, claiming they were not doing enough to build a winning team. He eventually requested a trade.

    [edit] Diamondback Career (2000-2003)

    He was traded mid-season to the Diamondbacks in 2000. With Arizona, he went 22-6 with a 2.98 ERA in 2001 and went 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA in the playoffs. In the 2001 World Series the Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees in 7 games. Schilling shared the 2001 World Series MVP Award star with teammate Randy Johnson. He and Johnson also shared Sports Illustrated magazine's 2001 "Sportsmen of the Year" award. In 2002, he went 23-7 with a 3.23 ERA. Both years he finished second in the Cy Young Award voting to Johnson.

    [edit] Red Sox Career (2003-Present)

    Schilling with the Boston Red Sox.
    Enlarge
    Schilling with the Boston Red Sox.

    In November 2003, the Diamondbacks traded Schilling to the Boston Red Sox. Schilling immediately played up his role as a Yankee killer from the 2001 World Series, vowing he would thwart them again. He appeared at a Boston Bruins playoff game in April 2004 wearing a stylized "Yankee Hater" hat.

    On September 16, Schilling won his twentieth game of the season for the Red Sox, becoming the fifth Boston pitcher to win 20 or more games in his first season with the team, and the first since Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley in 1978. Schilling would go on to another win, ending his regular season with a 21-6 record.

    On October 19, 2004 Schilling won Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. Notably, he won this game playing on an injured ankle - the same injuries that contributed to his disastrous outing in Game 1 of the ALCS. These injuries were so acute that by the end of his performance that day his white sock was soaked with blood.

    The win forced a Game 7, making the Red Sox the first team in post-season Major League Baseball history to come back from a three-games-to-none deficit. The Red Sox would go on to win Game 7 and the ALCS and make their first World Series appearance since 1986. He pitched (and won) Game 2 of the 2004 World Series for the Red Sox against the St. Louis Cardinals. In both series, he had to have the tendon in his right ankle stabilized repeatedly, in what has become known as the Schilling Tendon Procedure, after the tendon sheath was torn during his Game 1 ALDS appearance against the Anaheim Angels. As in game 6 of the ALCS, Schilling's sock was soaked with blood from the sutures used in this medical procedure, but he still managed to pitch seven strong innings, giving up one run on four hits, whilst striking out four. This second "bloody" sock was placed in the Baseball Hall of Fame after Boston's victory over St. Louis in the World Series. A 4-game sweep of the World Series gave Boston its first World Series championship since 1918.

    Schilling was once again runner-up in Cy Young voting in 2004, this time to Minnesota Twins hurler Johan Santana, who received all 28 first-place votes. Schilling received 27 of the 28 second-place votes. Later, the entire Red Sox team was named Sports Illustrated's 2004 Sportsmen of the Year, making Schilling only the second person to have won or shared that award twice.

    Schilling's ankle injury had an immense effect on his pitching performance in 2005. He began the year on the disabled list, and even when he returned, he simply wasn't the Curt Schilling everyone knew. His velocity was down, his control was off, and his signature splitter pitch didn't have much bite to it. After being placed on the disabled list again, he returned in July as Boston's closer. The idea was that Schilling would work out of the bullpen until gaining enough strength to rejoin the starting rotation. However, this experiment, for the most part, was unsuccessful. Schilling did earn some saves, but was mostly ineffective. He eventually returned to the starting rotation and continued to struggle. However, he did have an excellent start against the Yankees in a September game, which was easily the highlight of his season. The Red Sox made it to the playoffs, but were swept by the Chicago White Sox in three games. Schilling was set to start the fourth game, but never got the chance.

    For the 2006 season, Schilling was said to be healthy, and apparently his ankle is no longer an issue. A 4-0 record with a minuscule 1.61 ERA silenced a number of critics who speculated that he was nearing the end of his career. He finished the year with a 15-7 record and 198 strikeouts, with a respectable 3.97 ERA.

    The 2006 season was also a season of milestones for Curt Schilling. On May 27, he earned his 200th career win, the 104th major league pitcher to accomplish the feat. The Red Sox beat Tampa Bay, 6-4.[1]

    On July 9, Schilling made his 400th career start in his major league career versus the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

    On August 30, Schilling collected his 3,000th strikeout against Nick Swisher of the Oakland Athletics. He is only the third pitcher to reach the 3,000-K milestone before reaching 1,000 career walks. The other two who accomplished this feat are Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux.

    Schilling has said that he wants to retire at the conclusion of the 2007 season.

    [edit] Off the field

    For the last 10 years, Schilling has been a supporter of care for ALS sufferers. His Curt's Pitch for ALS program allows fans and organizations to sponsor him, donating to the ALS Association for every strikeout he throws. He also donated to the charity his $25,000 winnings in a celebrity version of Jeopardy! that aired on November 9, 2006. In the 2004 playoffs, after the operation on his ankle, Schilling wrote "K ALS" (short for "strike out ALS") on his shoe, knowing that the cameras would be focusing on his foot numerous times while he was pitching.

    [edit] Gaming

    Schilling formed a deep-rooted interest in the board wargame Advanced Squad Leader.

    ASL has become his constant companion on road trips, and every National League city is now his playground for baseball at night and ASL in the day. (All of which has become a bonanza for ASL players of his acquaintance, who are sometimes Curt's guests at stadiums around the country.)[2]

    Schilling's disappointment at not being able to attend the ASL Oktoberfest (an annual game convention) led him to create his own, The ASL Open, which debuted the weekend of January 15, 1993 in Houston, Texas. The Open was financed out of his own pocket. Schilling also started his own amateur publication entitled Fire for Effect, a bi-monthly featuring "some of the ASL hobby's best writers".[3]

    When his favourite game was sold along with Avalon Hill to Hasbro, Schilling founded the small gaming company Multi-Man Publishing to maintain ASL and other Avalon Hill titles. He also started a new, professional publication entitled ASL Journal and contributed articles, editorials, and game scenarios.

    Schilling also plays EverQuest and EverQuest II, and has reviewed two of the game's many expansion packs for PC Gamer magazine.

    In 2006 Schilling created Green Monster Games.

    [edit] Internet

    He is an avid web communicator, feeling this is the best way to speak to the fans. Schilling has combined his fight against ALS with his love for EverQuest II, as the creators of the game have made Schilling a special online character. Between June 5, 2006 and June 7, 2006, fans were able to battle a virtual Curt Schilling in the game. Every time the virtual Schilling was defeated, Sony Online Entertainment donated $5 towards ALS research.[4] Later that year, it was announced he would form an online game production company called Green Monster Games, named after the Fenway left field wall.[1]

    [edit] Personality

    Schilling has a tendency to get carried away with his criticism of management, opposing players, and, on occasion, his teammates. During a game as a Diamondback in 2001, he destroyed a camera with a bat because he disagreed with their intended purpose (evaluating umpires.) He felt umpires were changing their strike zones to match the machine's. When Red Sox relief pitcher Scott Williamson began to experience arm pain mid-way through the 2004 season, Schilling reportedly told Williamson to stop "acting." Williamson then lost the remainder of the season to reconstructive arm surgery. While with the Phillies, Schilling was a vocal critic of team management, stopping just short of calling the front office incompetent. Schilling has also directed comments towards Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, once calling Rodríguez's swat of a tag in Game 6 of the ALCS a "bush league play" on The Jim Rome Show. He was called to Capitol Hill to testify about steroid use in March of 2005, not as a suspected user but rather as a vocal opponent. However, many were disappointed as he equivocated on his position. Later, he supported having Rafael Palmeiro's stats erased from the record books. He has also been known to call Boston radio stations to give his opinion.

    Schilling campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2004, while the ownership of the Red Sox campaigned for the challenger, Senator John F. Kerry.

    Recently, Schilling and his wife Shonda applied to house a family displaced due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. As a result, a family of nine moved into a house in Boston supplied by the Schillings. Schilling was applauded for his contribution.

    Schilling is also an avid World War II historian. In his collection, he has helmets and knives that were used in the war.

    Today, Schilling lives in Medfield, Massachusetts, in Drew Bledsoe's old house.

    [edit] Schilling's Superstitions and Religion

    Like many baseball players, Schilling has several superstitions. He never steps on the foul line when walking to or from the pitching mound. Schilling also wears a necklace that he kisses before he starts pitching. He does not start his warmup routine until precisely 6:45 p.m. for night games.

    He is a devout born-again Christian [2]. He mentioned this in a radio interview several years ago.

    [edit] See also

    100 Inning Game - Annual event to raise funds for Curt's Pitch for ALS

    [edit] External links

    [edit] Notes

    1. ^ story from MLB.com
    2. ^ The General Magazine, Volume 27, No. 5
    3. ^ The General Magazine, Volume 27, No. 5
    4. ^ Starpulse.com article. See also battleals.com
    Preceded by:
    John Smoltz    		 National League Championship Series MVP
    1993    		 Succeeded by:
    Mike Devereaux
    Preceded by:
    Barry Larkin    		 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
    1995    		 Succeeded by:
    Brett Butler
    Preceded by:
    Derek Jeter    		 World Series MVP (with Randy Johnson)
    2001    		 Succeeded by:
    Troy Glaus
    Preceded by:
    Derek Jeter    		 Babe Ruth Award (with Randy Johnson)
    2001    		 Succeeded by:
    David Eckstein
    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/u/r/Curt_Schilling_1cce.html"
    In other languages