Schilling May Be Done, Let the HOF Debate Rage
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↵Curt Schilling is scheduled to have shoulder surgery on Monday, thus officially ending an ’08 season that never got started for the 41-year-old. It may also put an end to his career:↵↵⇥He also said there is “a pretty decent chance that I’ve thrown my last pitch forever” during a regular weekly radio interview Friday on WEEI-AM (850) in Boston.↵↵So, because as sports fans we enjoy the pointless process of debating the merits of hall of fame candidates, let’s take a look at how Schilling stacks up. (For the record, The Big Lead seems to think he’s a lock, and called him, “one of the best ever.” I’d say that’s quite drastically overstating things.)
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- ↵↵⇥↵⇥Tied for 79th all-time in wins with 216
- ↵⇥Only really outstanding career stat is K’s (3116), where he ranks 14th all-time
- ↵⇥Never won a Cy Young, although was 2nd in voting three times
- ↵⇥Three rings with two teams
- ↵⇥Despite having five or six seasons that could be considered great, he never dominated for a sustained stretch of time, which, to me, is a key factor when looking at HOF candidates.
- ↵⇥Three 300+ strikeout seasons
- ↵⇥I refuse to mention All-Star appearances because nothing is more trivial or meaningless.
- ↵⇥The pitcher most similar to him in terms of wins, ERA and K’s is John Smoltz, who is almost identical. Except, of course, Smoltz has 132 more saves than Schilling. ↵⇥
↵↵↵So, is Schilling a hall of famer? Based purely on the stats that the voters most rely on (as outlined above), I’d say no. But I think being a key component of three World Series champs -- including leading a team that hadn’t won in millenniums to the promise land in dramatic, bloody fashion – will get him in. Either way, he is marginal, at best. ↵
↵↵What say you? ↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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