Curt Schilling

Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966 in Anchorage, Alaska) is 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.

Career

Early MLB Career (1988-2000)

Schilling 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.

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.

Red Sox Career (2003-Present)

In November 2003, the Diamondbacks traded Schilling to the Boston Red Sox. On September 16, 2004, 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, 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. 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 is said to be healthy, and apparently his ankle is no longer an issue. Schilling went undefeated in his first four starts of the season, boasting a minuscule 1.61 ERA. This strong early performance has silenced a number of critics who speculated that he was nearing the end of his career.

On Saturday, May 27, 2006, Schilling earned his 200th career win, the 104th major league pitcher to accomplish the feat. The Red Sox beat Tampa Bay, 6-4. (story from MLB.com)

On Sunday, July 9, 2006 Curt Schilling made his 400th career start in his major league career versus the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field the home of the White Sox.

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 to sponsor him, donating to the ALS Association for every strikeout he throws. 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.

Outside sports, Schilling is a gamer. A fan of Advanced Squad Leader, he helped found the small gaming company Multi-Man Publishing to maintain ASL and other old games by Avalon Hill. Schilling also plays EverQuest and EverQuest II, and has reviewed two of the game's many expansion packs for PC Gamer magazine. 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 and 7, 2006, fans will be able to battle a virtual Curt Schilling in the game. Every time the virtual Schilling is defeated, Sony Online Entertainment will donate $5 towards ALS research. [http://www.battleals.com/.

Schilling has a tendency to get carried away with his criticism of management, opposing players, and, on occasion, his teammates. 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 Rodriguez's swat of a tag in Game 6 of the ALCS a "bush league play" on The Jim Rome Show. Schilling and teammate Manny Ramírez were also involved in a clubhouse altercation, according to a Providence newspaper. 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 anonymously 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.

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. He mentioned this in a radio interview several years ago.