Career over? Surgery ends Schilling's year

[chuckwillard]

I struck out Brandon Inge in high school...no, seriously, I did.

And Schilling should go in. So should Blyleven, Jack Morris, and the Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz troika. Had Smoltz not been hurt, all three of them would be 300 win/3000 k guys.

Anybody find it interesting that it was proclaimed not too long ago that we would never see another 300 game winner, and in the last few years we've had 3 pitchers reach 300 (2 of them reach 350), and another one probably going to do it before he hangs them up (Johnson), and 2 or 3 that might have done it but for injury (Smoltz, Schilling, Pedro). Of course, I don't see a single young pitcher coming up right now with anything approaching 300 win potential, so it may never happen after this generation, but wasn't it supposed to be done for before these guys came along?

[chuckwillard]

Just a thought...Clemens is done (HOF eligible in 2012). Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz may all be done this year (HOF eligible in 2012). If Schilling never pitches again, and Johnson retires after this year, they'll be HOF eligible in 2012.

Clemens, Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Schilling, and Johnson all eligible for Cooperstown on the same ballot...wow

<EDIT> Yes, I know Clemens may never get in with the steroid revelations, and Schilling is borderline, but still, what an assemblage of pitchers to all have their first crack at it in the same year.

[boomboom]

Same thing happened in 1998 I believe with Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Mike Schmitt, and I am forgetting another one...I believe all retired in 1993, I think it could have been Andre Dawson..


EDIT:
I was wrong,

It was Nolan Ryan, George Brett, and Robin Yount.
3 HOFers, but man if all 6 are on the same ballot. holy cow.

[MichelleWie]

Just a thought...Clemens is done (HOF eligible in 2012). Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz may all be done this year (HOF eligible in 2012). If Schilling never pitches again, and Johnson retires after this year, they'll be HOF eligible in 2012.

Clemens, Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Schilling, and Johnson all eligible for Cooperstown on the same ballot...wow

<EDIT> Yes, I know Clemens may never get in with the steroid revelations, and Schilling is borderline, but still, what an assemblage of pitchers to all have their first crack at it in the same year.

Actually Clemens wouldn't be on the same ballot as Maddox etc, unless he comes back this year. Maddux, smoltz, schilling would be eligible in 2013 if they retired this year. But 2012 is still very interesting: Clemens, Bonds, Sosa & Piazza will all be eligible unless one of them comes back this year.

[Red Sox Fan 734]

I think he should make it, he is definitely not a 1st ballot HOF'er though.

[beerchaser]

I think Schilling will pitch next year. His ego will not let him walk into the sunset just yet.

[dickay]

I think he should make it, he is definitely not a 1st ballot HOF'er though.

Retarded. If you're a HOF'er you are a HOF'er. How can he not be '1st ballot' but make it in a later ballot????? Is he going to play again and grow his stats?? This whole debate on if someone is a 1st ballot HOF're or not is irritating, irrational, and idiotic. The three 'I's' lol.

[HoustonGM]

Retarded. If you're a HOF'er you are a HOF'er. How can he not be '1st ballot' but make it in a later ballot????? Is he going to play again and grow his stats?? This whole debate on if someone is a 1st ballot HOF're or not is irritating, irrational, and idiotic. The three 'I's' lol.

Agreed.

I understand if, say, a voter, says, "I'm not going to vote for him on the first ballot, because I've yet to decide whether or not I think he belongs in the Hall" but to say "He does belong" and then follow that up with "But not on the first ballot" is silly to me. Once you've decided if you think a player is Hall-worthy, than he's Hall-worthy, be it his first time on the ballot or his 15th time.

[chuckwillard]

Precisely. The voters have come up with the idea that voting somebody in on the 1st ballot is somehow a higher honor than simply being voted in, which is ridiculous.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

I think Schilling will pitch next year. His ego will not let him walk into the sunset just yet.

nor the possibility of another 8 or so million deal

[ohms_law]

I wouldn't be to sure about that, since he has several things going on outside of baseball already. His own statements about his uncertainty of continuing to play sound sincere to me, as well.

[chuckwillard]

Sometimes you simply physically can't do it...when I blew out my shoulder in college after having a track record of pitching in the high 80's, I threw slower than Jamie Moyer when I came back, and it hurt like ****. I couldn't even throw a knuckleball...shoulder injuries are nothing to mess around with.

And I was 19 when I blew out my shoulder, not 41...

[dps]

I think that it boils down to this: if he is medically cleared to play, and he thinks he can still pitch, he'll try to come back.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I struck out Brandon Inge in high school...no, seriously, I did.

And Schilling should go in. So should Blyleven, Jack Morris, and the Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz troika. Had Smoltz not been hurt, all three of them would be 300 win/3000 k guys.

Anybody find it interesting that it was proclaimed not too long ago that we would never see another 300 game winner, and in the last few years we've had 3 pitchers reach 300 (2 of them reach 350), and another one probably going to do it before he hangs them up (Johnson), and 2 or 3 that might have done it but for injury (Smoltz, Schilling, Pedro). Of course, I don't see a single young pitcher coming up right now with anything approaching 300 win potential, so it may never happen after this generation, but wasn't it supposed to be done for before these guys came along?

Thats what everyone always says with every new generation of pitchers. The same thing was said when Tom Seaver and that generation was retiring and riding off into the sunset and Randy Johnson, Maddux, and Glavine were coming up. Now the same thing is being said as Maddux, Glavine, and Johnson are retiring, and the same things will be said once this generation gets a couple 300 game winners (C.C. Sabathia, Jake Peavy, Justin Verlander, and even Felix Hernandez all have a chance to reach that plateau in my opinion) and they get to the retirement age.

[chuckwillard]

I don't see it.

When Maddux, Glavine, Johnson, et al. were starting out, the 4-man rotation was standard. Pitchers worked 200 innings with regularity. From 1988-2005, Maddux threw 200 innings every year but one--and that year he threw 199 1/3.

With a 5-man rotation, 5-inning standard start duration, and a decrease in the number of decisions for starters, i just don't see it happening. I remember years where there was legitimate talk of a pitcher (Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Schilling were the ones I heard about) reaching 30 wins. Nowadays we're lucky to have a pitcher reach 20. Beckett and Peavy were the only ones last year.