I'm going to miss the big lug. In the past 30 years in Boston sports, there haven't been many guys more fun to write about than Curt Schilling. And it's nice to know he's not really going away. The uber-blowhard still will be part of our lives in cyberspace, on the airwaves, and probably at every town meeting and polling place in Suffolk, Middlesex, and Norfolk counties.
There can be no argument about Schilling's place in Red Sox lore. More than any other athlete in the history of our community, he delivered on his promises. He came to town claiming he was here to break an 86-year-old curse and he got it done. Immediately. Schilling went 21-6 in 2004, and then there was a certain playoff game involving a bloody sock. Schilling beat the Yankees, then the Cardinals while bleeding into his sanitary hose. Stephen King should write a book about it.
Even more remarkable is what Schilling accomplished in the 2007 postseason, another World Series winner. By October of '07, injuries, old age, and conditioning complacency had diminished his skills. Still, Schilling could not be beaten in the playoffs. Armed with nothing more than an Al Nipper fastball, he beat the Angels, Indians, and Rockies.
At the end, Schilling was able to win on his smarts and his accuracy. He prepared better than any pitcher. To the finish, he was a strike machine who could beat you with his brain even after his shoulder gave out.
In a lot of ways, Schilling was the Bill Russell of pitchers. In 19 postseason starts with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox, Schilling went 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA. He was 4-0 in five "win-or-go-home" tournament games. His teams played in 12 October series, winning 10.
His accuracy may never be replicated. Among all major league pitchers with at least 1,500 innings, Schilling has the best walk/strikeout ratio since 1900 (4.38 strikeouts per walk). Think about that for a second. Best ever since the beginning of the 20th century.
