FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Lifer: Metallica Sucks! said 06/21, 12:50 PM
By saying he will make it within 7.5 years on the ballot, that means that he would have to make it within 12.5 or whatever years from now, right (assuming he retires now)?

Gotta say yes. I never liked the guy, but his dominance was undeniable. He was THE best postseason pitcher of our era, and is also one of the best of all time.

In the entire postseason, Schilling is 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA, over 133.1 IP. Those numbers aren't just good, they're amazing.

But in the World Series? Even better. 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA over 48 IP. He has also won a WS MVP as well.

And his regular season numbers aren't too shabby either. 216-146, 3.46 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3116 K...

He is 14th all time on the Strikeout list (13th in K/9 IP), and 2nd all time in Walk-to-Strikeout ratio.

Although he has never won a Cy Young, he has come in 2nd place on three occasions, and only once in his entire career has he finished with an ERA above 4.00 (pitching at least 100 innings).

There have been plenty of starting pitchers in the modern era in the HOF with less than 240 wins. Sandy Koufax, Jim Bunning, DON DRYSDALE, Lefty Gomez, Whitey Ford, Bob Lemon, Hal Newhouser, Catfish Hunter...240 wins is not a HOF threshold.

Lifer: Metallica Sucks! said 06/22, 10:12 AM
One flaw there, rstowe...These guys all had plenty of competition. Curt Schilling, thanks be to steroids, has a much thinner pool of talent to compete against. Let's take a look, shall we?

Mark McGwire (been eligible for 2 years already)
Barry Bonds
Sammy Sosa
Rafael Palmeiro
Gary Sheffield
Jason Giambi
Andy Pettitte
Miguel Tejada
Roger Clemens (perhaps)

When you consider that it certainly looks like McGwire won't be getting into the Hall (at least, not for a long time), you have to assume most of these guys will get the same. I could see a few getting off (perhaps Andy Pettitte), but it wouldn't surprise me if none of the top 4 make it in, when they otherwise would be first ballot guys.

Let's compare some stats of Schilling to others, shall we? In parentheses is the number of years on the ballot.

Catfish Hunter (3) - They have similar records, and while Hunter has a slightly better ERA, Schilling has a far better ERA+ and they have almost the same WHIP. Schilling also has a far better BB-K ratio, and was a better K guy.

Ted Lyons (4) - Schilling has a better record, ERA, ERA+, WHIP, BB-K ratio, more K...edge to Curt here.

Robin Roberts (5) - Better at all the above stats.

Lifer: Metallica Sucks! said 06/22, 01:46 PM
You have one example of a guy who's gotten a raw deal. I have 3 examples (so far) of guys that Schilling beats in regular season stats alone. If I wanted to add in postseason numbers, Schilling would blow away a third of HOF pitchers.

"which is more important - overall career or brilliance in October."

I don't know what you're trying to say...that Schilling had a bad overall career? His numbers in the regular season alone are great anyways.

More examples, then?

Early Wynn (4) - 300 wins, but 244 career losses, and a worse ERA, ERA+, WHIP, BB-K ratio, etc etc

Dennis Eckersley (1) - Schilling has a better ERA, ERA+, WHIP, BB-K ratio. etc...

Should I even continue with this? The fact is, the precedent for guys with Schilling's regular season numbers has already been set. Add in his playoff stats, and you've got a HOFer who deserves to get in on an early ballot.

Yes, no one is above suspicion in the Roids Era, but does that mean that no one from this era is getting into the Hall? Schilling has remained clean and innocent during this era, while guys like McGwire and Bonds have not. They're not getting in, but Curt is, and early at that, like it or not.

Good TD (again), rstowe.