TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Schilling Decides To Retire

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: March 24, 2009

BOSTON - Curt Schilling retired from baseball Monday, ending a career in which he won World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the game's most dominant pitchers and grittiest competitors.

The 42-year-old right-hander said on his blog he's leaving after 23 years with "zero regrets." Schilling missed all of last season with a shoulder injury after signing a one-year, $8 million contract.

"The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime," he wrote.

Schilling had surgery last June and had said he might come back in the middle of this season though he was not under contract. He made no reference to his injury on his blog.

He was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series with Randy Johnson while in Arizona. Schilling also won World Series titles with Boston in 2004 and 2007.

Schilling came to Boston for the 2004 season and helped the team win its first World Series in 86 years, pitching Game 2 of a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

He was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round in 1986 but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles before playing for the big-league club. He pitched for Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia and Arizona before being wooed to the Red Sox by Epstein.

Schilling, one of the sport's hard throwers, finishes his career with 3,116 strikeouts, 14th most in baseball history, a 216-146 record and a 3.46 ERA.

He was even better in the postseason, with an 11-2 record, the best of any pitcher with at least 10 decisions, and 2.23 ERA in 19 career starts.

Schilling was 9-8 with a 3.87 ERA in 2007, when he spent seven weeks on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis.

Commissioners OK Marlins' Park

MIAMI - The Florida Marlins' long quest for a new stadium finally cleared its final political hurdle.

Miami-Dade County commissioners approved late Monday night the Marlins' plan to build a retractable-roof ballpark.

After a marathon 91/2-hour discussion, the county's 13 commissioners capped off an effort that dates more than a decade.

The 37,000-seat ballpark will be built near downtown Miami in the city's Little Havana neighborhood.

CARDINALS: Chris Carpenter allowed his first two runs of spring, both unearned thanks to his error, but St. Louis still beat the Washington Nationals 6-3.

PHILLIES: Optioned pitcher Kyle Kendrick to their minor-league camp, cutting the candidates for the final spot in the rotation to three.

REDS: Shortstop Alex Gonzalez strained his right hamstring beating out an infield hit in the second inning of a 3-0 victory against Toronto. He left the game to get treatment.

YANKEES: Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to start the first exhibition game at the new Yankee Stadium on April 3 against the Chicago Cubs.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT