If Curt Schilling gets into the Hall of Fame, he probably will be wearing a different jersey. Image: Jennifer Hilderbrand-US PRESSWIRE

I don’t think Schilling gets in this year as it seems that momentum is favoring Jack Morris.  The writers will likely not induct any of the three previous names mentioned this year as to not reward them with “first ballot status” given their tainted reputations.  In fact, some may never vote them in.  So that leads us back to this:   is Curt Schilling a a Hall of Fame pitcher?  It is certainly an interesting case.  His career record of 216-146 with a 3.46 ERA is not overwhelming.  Keep in mind, though that he pitched on some horrid Philadelphia Phillies teams and finishing a career 70 games over .500 for a pitcher who played on bad teams is pretty impressive.  We can also take a look at his dominant years.  Schilling pitched in parts of 20 seasons in the Major Leagues.  I would classify six of them as dominant (1992, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2004).  He finished second three times and fourth once for the Cy Young Award and was selected to six All-Star teams.  He won 20 games three times and led the league in victories in both the American and National League.  He led the NL in complete games four times and was tops in strikeouts and innings pitched twice.  Schilling and Randy Johnson are the last two pitchers to strike out 300 batters in a season (2002).

It is the postseason where Schilling’s case gets a big boost.  He was a member of three different World Series teams, playing in it a total of four times.  He was on the winner’s side three times, once with the D’Backs (winning a co-MVP with Johnson) and the other two with the Boston Red Sox.  His record in the playoffs is a sparkling 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA.  The winning percentage of .846 is the highest percentage of any pitcher in history with at least ten decisions.  On the biggest stage of them all, the Fall Classic, the record is 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA.  Schilling is arguably the best big-game pitcher of the last 30 years, on par or better than Morris and John Smoltz.

So will he ever get in?  It is such a tough call.  You would like to see better regular season numbers and the fact he won 20 games only three times with a career total of 216 would normally keep a guy like that out.  However, the postseason numbers are Hall of Fame worthy and though he had only six truly outstanding years, they were spread out over 13 seasons.  In addition, he helped end the Red Sox’ “curse”, no small feat.  I compare Schilling to Kirby Puckett.   Neither one had ten dominant seasons but both were at their best in October.   When making that comparison, Curt Schilling deserves a spot in Cooperstown.

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Sep 9, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Miguel Montero went 2-4 with a run scored during the D-Backs’ 8-2 loss to the Padres. Image: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Let us start with actually playing the position.  Most catchers are not behind the plate for 140 games.  Yet, Miggy is on pace to reach that number for the second year in a row, having caught 122 so far.  He is also going to break the 1,000 inning barrier, just like he did in 2011.  In the National League, no one has played more than Montero’s 262 games over the last two years.  He does not have the benefit of the Designated Hitter like Mauer and Napoli.  How about his offense?  Well, he may exceed his 15 home run, 86 RBI, .282 average from 2011. His numbers are 15-81-.283 at the moment, plenty of time to match or better 2011.  Miggy also has batted cleanup on numerous occasions, something also very rare for a catcher.  As for his defense,  he has had to handle four rookie pitchers, unheard of on many teams.  Despite the challenge of tutoring so many youngsters and the sheer volume of games and innings, Montero’s four passed balls are the fewest among all catchers in 2012.  He also leads the NL since the beginning of 2011 with 63 runners caught stealing.  How he was not named an All-Star this season is beyond me.  That mistake should not be repeated in 2013.

The Dianondbacks were wise to lock up Miggy thru 2017.  Catchers are natural leaders and Montero seems to fit the bill with his willingness to play just about every day and his prowess both in the field and at bat.  The prized young arms of Arizona are in good hands with Miguel Montero calling the action from behind the plate.

Thanks to Chelsea Janes at mlb.com for her article on Montero.  She provided all of the defensive stats used in this post.  You can read Chelsea’s piece by clicking here.

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