Curt Schilling Retires

Curt Schilling is retiring.

And a quiet end to an above-average career from a loud-mouthed pitcher. Schilling began his career as a RedSock in their farm system (joining the likes of Hanley Ramirez and Jeff Bagwell). The six-time All Star has won 3 World Series and has an amazing Post-Season record of 11-2 with an ERA of 2.23. The most famous incident is, of course, his bloody sock in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS.

Curt Schilling's Hall of Fame Credentials are there, just not stunning. 216-146 make for an impressive win-loss record. His 3.46 career ERA is a little higher than I'd like it to be, and his 3,000 Ks are good as well. Oddly enough, he has never won a Cy Young Award, though he was a co-mvp of the 2001 World Series with Randy Johnson. He won 20 games three times in his career (all past the year 2000). Overall, I would say that he will eventually be enshrined in the Hall, though probably not on the first ballot.

His retirement is undoubtedly good news for the RedSox, who don't have to worry about giving him a chance to win a spot in their rotation; they already have John Smoltz to try and get a spot when he returns this year. His retirement ultimately will give more playing time to the likes of Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson.

Schilling, now in his retirement, will undoubtedly find work somewhere as a sportscaster or a play-by-play announcer for some network, as everyone likes an announcer with experience in the game to give insights, even if it is Curt Schilling.

My one knock on Curt Schilling is that he is a bit of a blowhard when it comes to politics and PEDs in baseball. I don't think it is his place in the former, and in the latter, I feel like giving more than one soundbyte on the matter is unnecessary from a player.