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Monday, March 23, 2009

Goodbye To My Favorite Knucklehead


Even though his legend will lie within a bloody sock, I will always remember Curt Schilling as a guy who drove Phillies fans nuts. He was traded to the Phillies on April 2, 1992 by the Houston Astros for a future journeyman in Jason Grimsley. He almost instantly became ace of the staff going 14-11 in his first year in Philadelphia. He then led the crusade with guys like Dykstra, Daulton, and Kruk to reach the World Series in 1993, where he proceeded to go 1-1 after winning the NLCS MVP. The Series went to the Blue Jays that year but the future looked bright for "Schill."

He was a man that everyone wanted on the mound but no one wanted in the clubhouse, mainly due to his big mouth. He was a bit overbearing at times and even though he drove then Phillies manager Terry Francona up the wall, he was one of the best pitchers to wear the uniform. His 101 wins as a Phil ranks sixth in franchise history, but he also places in strikeouts (4th), games started (6th), and holds the team's single season record with his 319 strikeouts in 1997.

These few words here can't describe how he tried to carry a bad Phillies team year after year following that 1993 run, nor can it truly show how missed he was when he was traded to Arizona. But no matter how many red cell/ketchup soaked socks he may have placed upon his feet, no matter how many championships he won elsewhere, he will always be a greater Phillie then he will be a loud mouthed, crazy headed, yet golden armed lunatic member of the Diamondbacks and Red Sox

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