Curt Schilling: HOF Worthy?

[BooCocky]

Schilling announced his retirement today in a blog on his website. I will not post a link because of the advertising rule, but if you get a chance you should read it. He doesn't hold anything back. Anyway, nn his 20 year career he earned 216 wins, 3116 strikeouts and an earned run average below five. Obviously Schilling didn't reach the 300 win mark but the man was clutch, he was 11-2 in the postseason with a microscopic ERA for todays baseball. He is a six time all star, and a 3 time world series champion. Two with the Bo Sox and One with the Diamondbacks of Arizona. He has more wins than some pitchers in the HOF and he pitched in the era of the five man rotation.

So, is Schilling a HOF pitcher? I say yes, he was clutch, has over 200 wins, a below 3.5 era, and over 3000 strikeouts. His postseason stats are phenomenal. Schilling is an outspoken person, but that shouldn't prevent him from going into the HOF. But with his entry, Mike Mussina should be a HOF member.

Anyway, is Curt Schilling a HOF worthy pitcher?

 

[klunderbunker]

I would say yes. His numbers aren't as great as some HOFers, but they're far from average. The key to his resume is his postseason numbers, which might be the best of all time. Schilling was always one of the best around but never the flat out best. His numbers are very solid indeed and had extended flashes of greatness. throw in the bloody sock incident to prove his sheer toughness, and I don't see anything but a yes here.

If he made the HOF, I'd be perfectly fine with it, but he'll likely be a no because of his win total.

 

[z99zazn]

Well I really hate the guy. He beat my Cards in the World Series while he was on the BoSox. For a couple years on the Dbacks he kicked their ass with Randy Johnson. So you could say I have a severe bias/hate for him. I think hes a cocky idiot and needs to stop running his mouth all the time too. But I digress from the question. No, I personally don't think hes a HOFer. He had maybe 7 great seasons and was great in the postseason, but I don't think he has the stats for the HOF. If Bert Blyleven isn't a HOFer, then I dont think Schill should be either.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

If you take postseason performance into then yes without a doubt if not then it's a toss up. Personally I think it's a no brainer that postseason performance should count towards getting in but I don't think all the voters factor it in.

The reason I think it's gonna be tough for him to get in without his postseason performance is because he was never a top 5 pitcher at any point in his career. He definitely was in the playoffs but in the regular season he wasn't. In the late 90s early 00s Clemens, Maddux, Pedro, Randy Johnson, Glavine were all better than him and you could make a case for guys like Mussina as well. In the mid 90s you could add guys like Johan Santana, Roy Halladay, Beckett among others to that list. In fact you could make a case that he was never even the top starting pitcher on his team except for maybe his early years in Philly and that was by default. In Arizona Johnson was the ace and in Boston Pedro and then Beckett were the aces.

With that said if you throw postseason performance into it then it is a no brainer. He has the lowest ERA among any pitchers in the postseason with atleast 15 starts. He was one of the best big game pitchers of all time. He along with Johnson pretty much carried that Arizona team to a championship.

 

[TwistofRKO]

I believe the criteria does involve post-season performances, which all but cements his feet in the hall of fame. To me he passes the name test, I believe he'd be a popular choice among anyone and everyone if you needed one guy to pitch you one game.. To me it's a no brainer.

 

[KillBill]

The reason I think it's gonna be tough for him to get in without his postseason performance is because he was never a top 5 pitcher at any point in his career. He definitely was in the playoffs but in the regular season he wasn't. In the late 90s early 00s Clemens, Maddux, Pedro, Randy Johnson, Glavine were all better than him and you could make a case for guys like Mussina as well. In the mid 90s you could add guys like Johan Santana, Roy Halladay, Beckett among others to that list. In fact you could make a case that he was never even the top starting pitcher on his team except for maybe his early years in Philly and that was by default. In Arizona Johnson was the ace and in Boston Pedro and then Beckett were the aces

You are correct. But out of all these players, name me one that won't be in the HOF. So that helps him, because the guys that were better were great. But like what has been said, its his post-season that he shined, which is what great players do. He has the best winning percentage in the post season. But the other thing that distinguishes HOF'ers is that have that moment. That special moment that makes people remember them. Schilling has the Bloody Sock. He doesn't have a ton of wins, but thats due to a late start, as he wasn't a regular starter til 93? When he was 25-26. And he had a couple years where he was injured, but still had a great ERA.

 

[Showtime]

Schilling will get into the HOF, I have little doubt about that. First, he has over 3000 strikeouts. Wins, era, whip and all those other stats and figures may be better determents on who's a better pitcher, but strikeouts are way sexier. As much as everyone was obsessed with home runs during the turn of the millennium, that is how a lot of people feel about strikeouts.

Nolan Ryan, Baseballs undisputed strikeout, gets way more recognition and praise than a person of his statistical records, hell, I think he was voted by idiot fans as the greatest pitcher of the century. While his 5000 strikeouts and multiple no-hitters are impressive, I find him far from the greatest pitcher ever, but he is still deserving of being a HOF'er, as is Schilling.

I think if Schilling were to have spent his entire career in Philly, we might not be having this conversation, it would at least be more divided. Schilling spent the majority of his career with a perennial loser, and because of that, he was really over shadowed in what should have been the prime of his career by a lot of other pitchers like Clemens, Johnson, Maddax, Glavine, Martinez, and Smoltz. Then a trade to Arizona and Schilling and Johnson become baseballs best pitching one-two punch. In 2001 they ended the Yankees streak and won the World Series, Schilling shared the World Series MVP with Johnson.

And that above all else is what guarantees Schilling getting into the HOF. He is a clutch pitcher and a big playoff winner and sports, like baseball, like to capture exciting moments and make them last and stand forever. To help that, putting them in the Hall would help. Schillings credentials alone make him a good candidate to get in, even though he never won a Cy Young award. It's his 3 World Series Rings and the stories that surround them, him and Johnson, the bloody sock, winning at age 40, that guarantee his entry into the HOF.

 

[DD84]

As a Yankee fan, I wouldn't want to see him in the Hall of Fame. He just dominated the Yankees too many times and backed up everything he said. He and the Unit, broke Yankee fans hearts every in 2001, and helped bring a Championship to our biggest rival Boston. So with that all being said, he will be in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. He was simply brilliant in the post season and very good in the regular season. You also have to take it into account, that he more than likely didn't use steroids and pitched against batters that were, so his stats could have been better. So he is in the Hall, in my opinion, but I wished the Yankees could have beaten him at least one time.

 

[RBH]

After bloody sock 04 and World Series Mania 01 I believe Schilling without a shadow of a doubt deserves to be in the HOF. I did not always like him as a person but that is irrellevant here and I believe that someone with his talent deserves to be honored and respected for his contributions to the game. HOF players are players that helped their teams achieve greatness....Red Sox-check. Diamondbacks-check.

Schilling definately fits the bill as a player who helped his team achieve greatness. I really believe that he desreves to get in and he should be in the hall of fame.