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BP Annual Player Comments

Year		Comment
2008		After he came off of the DL last August, Schilling appeared to make a conscious decision to throw strikes, and only strikes, and force the hitters to beat him. Counting the postseason, Schilling walked just seven men in his last 80 2/3 innings. It's an approach that will make him a league-average innings guy at age 40, and well worth the $11-13 million his incentive-laden contract will end up paying him.
2007		Though he didn`t reach the heights of 2004, Schilling sufficiently recovered from his famous ankle injury to reassert himself as a frontline starter in 2006, posting the top K/BB ratio of any ERA qualifier. That said, he showed some wear and tear. Early in the year, instability shortened his stride, causing his pitches to stay higher in the strike zone and offering clues that his ankle was still bothering him. A strained lat cost him a few September starts and may have factored into some second-half struggles (5.04 ERA over his final 11 starts). Still, simply by proving that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated, Schilling`s 2006 has to be counted as a success, and while the normal precautions apply to a 40-year-old pitcher, he should be capable of a repeat in the finale of his four-year, $50.5-million deal.
2006		Although Red Sox Nation expects Schilling to be the ace of the rotation once again, there is plenty of reason to think that his ankle is never going to allow him to be the power pitcher he used to be. He`s a smart man and could probably gut through a couple of above-average seasons on finesse and guile. Although he remains a controversial figure wherever he goes, the story of his 2004 post-season becomes even more amazing as the extent of his injury becomes more apparent. It is said that an athlete should leave it "all" on the field. Schilling did just that.
2005		The Red Sox turned over seven players from the 2003 team that finished one pitch short of the World Series, but to hear some people tell it, if they'd only been able to bring in Schilling that would have been enough. Signer of one of the league's more interesting contracts, Schilling's 2005 salary jumps by $2 million and his $13 million option for 2007 was automatically vested the minute the Sox defeated the Cardinals. Signed to win the World Series, he delivered in storybook fashion. The only problem is that Boston is now stuck with the bill for a pitcher who's shown an increasing susceptibility to injuries and a declining strikeout rate through his age-40 season for a lot of money. For now, Schilling is still among the game's elite and the Sox are happy to trade the future risk for the present championship.
2004		Now that the Rocket's name is permanently blackened in Beantown by his happy ending in pinstripes, is there anyone better equipped to be the equally beefy doppelganger in Boston's emotional landscape? We know he's great when healthy, and you ought to worry that, reunited with Terry Francona, he'll get to dictate how long he stays in the game again. Schilling is at an age where he may not be good for 30 starts, multiplying the Pedro problem by two. But even so, Schilling Is moving out of a bandbox that tacked a half-run onto his ERA, and away from a weak defensive club. He's going to a more neutral park and playing for a team built to score runs anywhere, anytime. Sure, he'll have to face DHs, but he won't have to face the Red Sox. It isn't hard to envision an ERA under 3.00 in 20-25 starts, and if the self-management issue doesn't get out of hand, one of those insanely high winning percentage seasons you saw from David Cone and still get from Pedro.
2003		America’s most famous Avalon Hill addict had another tremendous year, keeping up his half of the tremendous load. A rough September probably cost him the Cy Young, and advance scouting reports showed his velocity down toward the end of the season. If the D-Backs can find a way to give him 5% more rest, and maybe knock 20 innings off his season, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t continue to be a nostril-flaring, angry, viciously precise flamethrower for several seasons to come. An absolute blast to watch on the mound.
2002		It’s hard to believe that all the abuse Schilling suffered at the hands of Terry Francona in Philadelphia hasn’t had any ill effects on him, but it’s clear that that’s the case. After a decade of effectiveness between injuries, Schilling has been healthy for most of the last five years and is coming off of a year in which he was the second-best starting pitcher in baseball. That success is not likely to last, given his history, so it’s hard to blame the Diamondbacks for looking at 2001 as a one-shot deal.
2001		This is your basic problem player for any organization. My own half-baked theory is that watching Mitch Williams as he cost Curt Schilling his shot at a World Series ring has left Schilling unwilling to sit still when he thinks there’s an injustice that can be righted by him opening his mouth. He’ll almost never come off the mound if he can avoid it, fearful that those damned relievers are just going to blow the game, and he’d rather take the hit himself than get left with another might-have-been. Only a manager with a lot of self-assurance is going to keep Schilling pitching effectively into his late thirties by making him learn to love those guys in the pen. Terry Francona was never going to stand up to Schilling, and I doubt Bob Brenly will, either. Schilling is smart (hey, he’s the world’s most famous "Squad Leader" player, which is like passing the bar exam, only harder) and outspoken, which makes him a natural target for beat writers hungry for quotes or controversy. When things go sour, he’ll be the first to complain; on an old, bad team, that’s going to be a problem. At his best, Roger Clemens Lite; just not a good bet to age well.
2000		The workload finally caught up to him last year. The team claims that the shoulder surgery he underwent in the offseason was minor, and that he should be back in mid-May. If the Phillies don't change how they use him, though, he may be back on the disabled list by September. Since his effectiveness frequently drops off sharply after 120 pitches anyway, there's really no reason not to change.
1999		Worth twice what they pay him, as he's now thrown over 700 innings of sub-3 DT-ERA ball over the last three years. Signing one more established starter may have the ripple effect of reducing Schilling's innings if the bullpen's workload drops on the days he isn’t pitching, and given Schilling's history, that should be at the front of Wade's mind this winter.
1998		What can I add that you don’t already know...an NL right-handed strikeout record, no... big contract extension through 2000, no... hey, he stole his first base last year. That’s probably something.
1997		In 1995 he underwent surgery for a torn labrum, similar to what Met pitchers Jason Isringhausen and Paul Wilson underwent last September. Philly fans can be delighted that the results have been so successful for Curt Schilling; I’m not sure they’d be as pleased if it works for the other guys.
1996		If he's healthy, he'll win. He can move his fastball at will, cutting or sinking, with excellent control. Although there's no shortage of reasons, losing Schilling probably ruined the Phillies' season. A good indication of how Jim Fregosi uses his pitchers: occasionally Schilling will run up some high pitch counts, but he hasn't worked on three days' rest in over five years. Another Phillies disappointment: Schilling usually has a great second half, with an ERA more than a run lower over the last five years. The injury put the kibosh on that happening again.

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PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile

A Collaboration between BrooksBaseball.net and Baseball Prospectus - Pitch classifications provided by Pitch Info LLC

Although he has not thrown an MLB pitch in 2024, Curt Schilling threw 1,190 pitches that were tracked by the PITCHf/x system in 2007, including pitches thrown in . In 2007, he relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (89mph) and Splitter (81mph), also mixing in a Cutter (85mph), Curve (73mph) and Sinker (89mph). He also rarely threw a Change (88mph) and Slider (88mph).