Boston Red Sox top 25-man roster in franchise history
By Sean Penney
Starting Pitcher 5
Curt Schilling
(1988-2007)
Career Stats: 216 W, 3.46 ERA, 8.60 K/9, 1.96 BB/9, 79.7 WAR
With Red Sox: 53 W, 3.95 ERA, 7.65 K/9, 1.44 BB/9, 15.0 WAR
Back in November of 2003, then-general manager Theo Epstein sat down for Thanksgiving dinner with Curt Schilling and his family for what would end up being one of the most important holiday’s in Red Sox history. Boston’s wunderkind GM visited the Schillings for the holiday while pitching the idea of joining the Red Sox to the veteran right-hander. After much negotiation, Epstein finally convinced Schilling to waive his no-trade clause to accept a deal that would ship him to Boston.
"“I want to be part of bringing the first World Series in modern history to Boston,” said Schilling following the announcement of the trade. “And hopefully more than one over the next four years.”"
Those words would prove to be prophetic, as Schilling teamed with Pedro at the top of the rotation to give the Red Sox the most formidable one-two punch in baseball. The trade paid immediate dividends, as the Red Sox would snap an 86-year title drought in Schilling’s first season in Boston. One of the most memorable highlights of that postseason run was Schilling battling through injury in the infamous “Bloody Sock” game to win Game 6 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees, putting Boston on the verge of what would become one of the most epic comeback stories in sports history.
As impressive as Schilling’s career numbers are, the postseason was where he truly shined. He was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in his postseason career, including three World Series victories. In his final season, Schilling helped deliver another championship to the Red Sox. The last time he took the mound, Schilling held the Colorado Rockies to a single run over 5.1 innings in Game 2 of the World Series, which Boston would go on to sweep in 2007.
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