Curt Schilling was a high-profile pitcher and a high-profile persona.  He was brash, he was outspoken and he was arrogant.  He could be refreshingly honest.  He could be unlikeable enough to make Dan Shaughnessy sympathetic.  He will linger on in online screeds and paid pontification, but his true relevance to us will be tested in five years, when he appears on the Hall of Fame ballot.  Writers will ask themselves whether Schilling was one of the best.  The answer should be yes.

During his reasonably healthy prime from 1996 to 2004, Schilling was among the best pitchers in the game.  In those nine seasons, he had an ERA+ above 130 eight times, he had six seasons with a WHIP under 1.100 and he had five seasons with more strikeouts than innings pitched.  If you skew traditional, he had three 20-win seasons and three Cy Young runner-up seasons.

His dominance holds up over his career.  He has the best SO to BB ratio of any pitcher who has played in MLB since 1884.  Of his clean contemporary starters who have played a full career, only Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez have a better adjusted ERA+.  Among any contemporary starters, only Pedro and Johan Santana have a better career WHIP.

Schilling compares to the best of his era at striking people out and not allowing walks, hits and runs.  He played with Johnson and Martinez and stood every bit their equal.  What more do you want a pitcher to do?

He’s 11-2 career in the playoffs with a 2.23 ERA, averaging seven-innings per start.  His teams won ten out of twelve playoff series.  He has three World Series rings.

More impressive than the post-season numbers for Schilling are the anecdotes.  During his time in Boston, I saw him take the mound with his full, devastating arsenal and win.  I saw him limp out to the mound with an experimental suture on his ankle and win.  In his last start, I saw him stare at the mound in cognizant fear, realizing his arm was dead and win.

We know clutch pitching exists.  Schilling proved it time and time and time again.

Curt Schilling showed “Mystique and Aura” to be dancers at a night club.  He made “Curse” a fanciful book premise.  The great ones don’t look fetching in a suit of armor or have the most statistically precise sword technique.  They kill dragons.

Calling It Quits (38 Pitches)