HOF or not: Curt Schilling
April 25th, 2007
Curt Schilling has 209 wins and 3,035 strikeouts, with a career ERA of 3.44. He’s a six-time All-Star but has never won a Cy Young Award. He ranks 14th on the all-time strikeout list.
Schilling: Hall of Famer or not?
Discussed previously:
Gary Sheffield
Jeff Bagwell
Mike Mussina
Pedro Martinez
Jim Edmonds
Fred McGriff
Juan Gonzalez
I’m going to say, “Put him in.” But I’m not sure he has the numbers. The bloody sock should get him in though.
Probably not a first-ballot guy, but he definitely should be in. With the way pitchers are coddled these days, we’re going to see fewer and fewer guys with 300 wins. Schilling should get to around 250 if he stays healthy for a few more years.
I think that even if his career ended today, he should be in on the first ballot. I can’t think of a better big game pitcher than Curt Schilling. He’s a career 8-2 in the playoffs with a 2.06 ERA and 4 complete games. Without him, Boston and Arizona don’t win those championships.
I say “no”.
If that dolt of a sports reporter can leave a guy off the first ballot just because he believes no one should be unanimous, I can leave Schilling off my list entirely(first ballot or otherwise) just because I don’t like him that much. He’s egotistical.
3-time 20 game winner, total gamer, 2-time world champ, awesome in postseason, led his league in Ks, CGs, IP and wins–oh yeah–he’s totally in.
If there was a game that my life depended upon and I was forced to choose the lineup, I would want Schilling on the mound.
There is a fire in his belly that is rare in today’s game, and he plays it the way it should be played. He talks big and backs it up, and as said by someone else he has the stats worthy of HOF induction.
He only gets in if the Hall gets to display the bloody sock next to his mug.
I would say he should go in. Solid stats, a consistent performer when he is healthy, and as has already been pointed out, dominant in big game situations.
In a word, “No.”
200 wins does not equal Cooperstown.
1st ballot? maybe but I don’t think he’d deserve that distinction and I’m a Red Sox fan. 200 wins doesn’t equal Cooperstown but 3K strikeouts does, he’s been a dominant pitcher for most of his career plus as others have noted, he’s delivered the majority of the times he’s had to in big games. I think he’s on the fence but if he puts up 2 more solid 15-18 win years he’ll nudge closer to being most likely.
I hate the whole 1st ballot or not issue. You are a Hall of Famer or you are not.
Maris for the Hall–Schilling is so much more than 200 wins.
As for Maris, .260 career BA and 2 or 3 good seasons do not equal Cooperstown. Even in his 61 homer season, Mantle was by far the best player on that team.
But was the sock really bloody???
The Zoner citing Maris’ statistics implies that the former Yankee and Cardinals great doesn’t have the numbers for inclusion into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
I think that two generations of baseball fans from now are more likely to know who Roger Maris was, than who Curt Schilling was.
In closing, please take the time to glance over this site:
http://pw2.netcom.com/~houdini/maris.html
The writer states it better than I ever could.
I like Schilling’s competitive nature, but I’d have to take a long look at how his numbers stack up against some of the other Hall of Fame pitcher.
My initial reaction, though, is “no” … mainly because I’m not sure they’d ever be able to get him off the podium!
I’m with Tony. Too egotistical. Kick out Babe Ruth, too. All that pointing crap about where he was going to hit the ball. And he was a drunk, too. No place for that stuff in Cooperstown. Doesn’t matter how well he played the game.
HA (I hope you were kidding, Tony.)
Stark statistics don’t tell the whole story, but clutch pitching in the playoffs, winning the WS, won’t be forgotten.
You don’t put someone in the HOF because everyone WILL remember. Putting him in the HOF will keep him from being forgotten. Do you think most people would remember Tom Seaver 20 years from now if he wasn’t HOF?
Schilling - YES
I’ve been to that site before. I’m not swayed by sentimentalism when it comes to the Hall.
Roger Maris does not belong in the hall of fame. He is surely a huge part of baseball history for his record-breaking season. But he is not a Hall of Famer.
As far as “two generations of baseball fans from now are more likely to know who Roger Maris was, than who Curt Schilling was”, I’d disagree with that too.
I think Schilling goes in, though maybe not first ballot, and I agree that 300 wins will become increasingly less likely.
Yep.
Schilling’s also the only pitcher to win WS games for three teams-Phillies, D-Backs and Red Sox. And the only reaons the Phillies didn’t win in ‘93 was because they couldn’t overcome the schitzo work of closer Mitch Williams.