Curt Schilling

With the news that Curt Schilling will need surgery that will probably end his career - the question everyone is asking is "Is Curt Schilling a Hall of Fame Player"? Here's my thoughts on Schilling's accomplishments and conclusion whether he deserves to be in Cooperstown or not.

1. Schilling had 3 20-win seasons. He went 22-6 in 2001 and 23-7 in 2002 for Arizona. Both of those seasons he finished 2nd in Cy Young voting to teammate and future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson who went a combined 45-11 with 706 strikeouts total in those two seasons. In 2004 Schilling went 21-6 for the Red Sox and again finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting. That year Johan Santana went 20-6 for the Twins but with a better ERA and more K's than Schilling. You have to wonder if Schilling's bad luck of having his best seasons the same years other future Hall of Fame pitchers were having theirs will cost him votes. If he had won a Cy Young in one of those 3 seasons would he be looked at differently?

2. He has "just" 216 career wins. That's one more than what Kenny Rogers currently has but still 8 short of Catfish Hunter and Jim Bunning's 224 which stand as sort of the unofficial Hall of Fame minimum for wins for pitchers in the modern era (Sandy Koufax's 165 being the exception that proves the rule). Schilling was every bit as good as either Hunter or Bunning and he may pick up some votes from people who buy into the argument "if you let Hunter or Bunning in then you have to let Schilling in too". Those votes will probably be offset by the people who look and see a guy with about the same number of wins as Kenny Rogers and exactly the same number of Cy Young Awards.

3. Schilling is one of only 16 players in MLB history to have over 3,000 strikeouts. Of the pitchers in the 3,000 K club - 9 are already in the Hall of Fame, 4 are very likely Hall of Famers (Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz) and then you have the special cases of Roger Clemens and Bert Blyleven. On the surface it would seem that membership in the 3,000 K club equals Hall of Fame induction, however, it also looks like Schilling will face some backlash if Blyleven is not inducted by the time Schilling becomes eligible.

4. In terms of playoff performance - Schilling's only equals may be current teammate Josh Beckett and fellow 41-year old John Smoltz. Schilling went 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 12 post season series. In winning his 3 World Series titles - Schilling was named co-MVP in one and had the legendary "bloody sock" postseason heroics in another. If Schilling gets into Cooperstown then it will probably be on the merits of his postseason performance as much as anything else.

I may be biased but I think that Schilling deserves induction. His election will be close and it may take a few years but I think Curt Schilling is a Hall of Famer.

EDIT: Others around the blogosphere asking the question "Is Curt Schilling a Hall of Famer?"

YSFS - says yes and has the stats to prove it

Odds and Sods - says yes and also has the stats to prove it

Check the Fien Print - has a Red Sox bias but still says that Schilling is not a Hall of Famer and he has the comparisons to prove it