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Eight players who, at one time or another, played for your Boston Red Sox will appear on next year's
Hall Of Fame ballot. They are:
Jason Bay,
Roger Clemens,
Derek Lowe,
Darren Oliver,
Manny Ramirez,
Curt Schilling,
Kevin Youkilis and
Billy Wagner. If we had a vote,
only one of them would enter the hallowed halls in Cooperstown: Schilling. There's an
outside case to be made for Wagner, who compiled a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves over a stellar 16-year MLB career. But, in our view, the Hall of Fame should be reserved for truly
elite performers only. That's why we would cast a vote for
'Mr. Bloody Sock'. Let's look at the facts. Schilling pitched for 20 seasons in major-league baseball—checking in with a 3.46 ERA and 216 wins. He won 20 games twice and led his league in innings pitched twice. He was an All-Star six times and
struck out 3,116 batters in his career—
one of just 16 to reach that lofty club. He finished
second in
Cy Young voting
three separate times. Then, of course, there is the post-season. Schilling has the highest winning percentage
ever in the post-season (.846). He has three World Series rings—two with the Red Sox ('04, '07), in addition to a win with Arizona. He was the Co-MVP (with
Randy Johnson) of the 2001 World Series—you know, when the D'Backs smacked-down the Yankees. Schilling also copped MVP honors for the 1993 NLCS as a member of the Phillies. Amazingly, in playoff games in which his teams were facing elimination, Schilling posted a
ridiculous 1.37 ERA. In potential
clinching games, his ERA was even better—1.16. In total, he pitched in eight elimination
or clinching games—
and his teams won all eight. What else do you need to know? Schilling belongs in the Hall. Period.
