Boston Sports Extra

On January 22, 2019, the 2019 Baseball Hall Of Fame class announcement occured. Curt Schilling did not matriculate. From here it is obvious that Schilling is the equal of John Smoltz. While Smoltz sailed in on his first chance in 2015, Schilling is still waiting. Why is that?

Schilling & Smoltz

The bare bones tell the story.Here are Curt Schilling‘s and John Smoltz‘s career numbers:

Wins/Losses/Saves/Games/Starts/Innings/Strikeouts/WHIP/ERA/WAR

Schilling 216/146/22/569/467/3261/3116/1.137/3.46/79.6

Smoltz 213/155/154/723/481/3473/3084/1.176/3.33/69.1

Smoltz has more games and saves, and a lower ERA. Schilling has more strikeouts and walked less, which resulted in a lower WHIP. WAR is an attempt by the Sabermetric community to equate the value of players across eras, teams, ballparks, etc. Schilling outclasses Smoltz there.

Curt Schilling played for the Philadelphia Phillies for eight and a half years. Other than the first year or two of Schilling’s time with them, the Phillies were a doormat in the National League. By contrast, Smoltz was part of one of the greatest collection of starting pitchers of all time, the perennially contending Atlanta Braves of the 1990’s. Smoltz was blessed to have fellow Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in the same rotation. Consequently, that team famously went to the MLB Postseason every year from 1991 to 1999, yet only won one World Series.

Postseason Dominance

These guys are Titans of the playoffs. This is because they both stepped up when the bright lights came on. Smoltz goes from a 3.33 career ERA and 1.176 WHIP, to a 2.67 ERA and 1.144 WHIP in the playoffs. Schilling goes from a career 3.46 ERA and 1.137 WHIP, to a 2.23 ERA and .968 WHIP. Smoltz has one career Complete Game in the postseason, Schilling has four. Smoltz is 15-4 in the postseason, Schilling 11-2.

John Smoltz’s most iconic performance is Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Smoltz was out-dueled by fellow Hall of Famer Jack Morris in a 1-0 extra innings loss. Curt Schilling had his bloody sock in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees. That was on the road to the Red Sox first World Series win in 86 years in 2004. And Schilling’s teams did something Smoltz’s teams never could: beat the Yankees. That’s why Schilling has three World Series Championships to Smoltz’s one.

The Real Difference.

John Smoltz received 87.92% of the vote his first time on the ballot in 2015 (75% of the vote is needed to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame by the writers). Meanwhile, Schilling’s percentages have wavered since his first time on the ballot in 2013: 38.2, 35.43, 45.62, 58.5, 50.3, 57.5, and 64.7 last year. This is a very strange pattern. Most of the time, players start low and gradually increase over time. Schilling’s numbers have wavered from year to year.

While John Smoltz is busy being an advocate for the shoulder safety of young kids, and announcing postseason games on all the big networks, Curt Schilling is seen as a social pariah. Schilling had a failed software company in Providence after taking tax breaks from Rhode Island, talked about voting Bush during the 2004 Presidential election while in Democrat country, and had some poor taste on social media.

In short, John Smoltz is seen as a choir boy, Schilling a bad seed.

The Hall of Fame is not the Hall of Good People

The Hall of Fame is a museum chronicling the history of baseball. For many years the baseball writers and players were drinking buddies. The writers celebrated the players. This was a result of the Black Sox scandal in 1919, and the concentrated effort by all involved to rehabilitate baseball’s image in American society.

In 1970, Jim Bouton‘s book Ball Four came out, and blew the lid off the narrative that baseball players are heroes. Bouton details rampant drinking, womanizing, ballplayers sneaking around looking through bathroom windows to see women showering, and PED use by Hall of Fame players. Since then, stories about cocaine use, gambling and PED use have disabused most of us from the notion that ballplayers are anything but fellow humans.

Thanks to Ryan Thibodaux’s meticulous Hall of Fame vote tracking sheet, we can see the details of the vote for 2019. Schilling received 64.7%, but only 41.2% on private ballots. In 2018, Schilling received 25.8% fewer votes on private verse public ballots. This year it was 23.5% less. Schilling still has a massive mountain to climb to reach the Hall of Fame.

Hopefully the writers will get off their high horses and see the truth: Curt Schilling belongs.

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Starting a new historical series of articles, I will cover the worst Red Sox to ever play at each position. This is the follow-up to my series of the five greatest Red Sox at each position. This one is even trickier, trying to find the worst player over the span of more than a century. I won’t bother with players who barely made an appearance. These articles will use some combination of guys who failed miserably in living up to a contract or hype, and those who just failed miserably.

Red Ruffing

Ruffing tops my list for what he did with the team versus what he did after leaving. Ruffing spent five full seasons in Boston and parts of two others. During that time he won 39 games against 96 losses! Despite this record of 57 games under .500, he ended up making the Hall of Fame. Yes, he is one of the weaker members in the Hall of Fame and probably doesn’t belong in there, but it goes to show what he did after.

After going 39-96 with a 4.61 ERA and 1.50 WHIP, just wretched numbers all around, Ruffing was sent to the Yankees. He ended up winning 231 games over parts of 15 seasons with the Yankees. He won 20 games in four consecutive seasons to close out the 1930’s. Ruffing certainly benefited from a potent Yankees lineup, but he pitched much better with the Yankees. That is why this bum comes in at number one.

Red Ruffing of the Boston Red Sox throwing a ball in 1925. (Photo by Sporting New and Rogers Photo Archive via Getty Images)

Daisuke Matsuzaka

It might seem strange to have a guy who finished in the top five of a Cy Young vote at number 2, but he earned it. Daisuke sat on the Red Sox roster, overpaid, for six seasons. Not wanting to lose on their investment, the Red Sox tried to fit him into the rotation year after year, deserving or not. Including the posting fee, Matsuzaka cost the Red Sox over 100 million dollars. For all that he only won 50 games.

Daisuke was one of the most hyped pitchers I have ever witnessed. He came from Japan with a “gyro ball” and a bunch of other phantom pitches he didn’t actually throw. He was also the most frustrating pitcher I have ever watched, nibbling a couple of inches off the plate once he got to two strikes and seemingly going 3-2 on every batter. As a result, Daisuke rarely went deep into games. In fact, in his good season with the team, 2008, Matsuzaka only averaged 5.2 innings pitched per start. Even when he was good, Daisuke taxed the bullpen and relied on them to close out his wins for several innings.

After winning 33 games over his first two seasons in the states, Daisuke won 17 over his last four seasons with Boston. During that stretch he was 17-22 with a 5.53 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. He also walked 4.5 batters per nine innings during that stretch. He was paid 37 million during those four years, on top of the high posting fee the Red Sox had to pay to even negotiate with him.

Year	Tm	W	L	ERA	GS	CG	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	HBP	WHIP	BB9	SO9
2007	BOS	15	12	4.40	32	1	204.2	191	100	80	201	13	1.324	3.5	8.8
2008	BOS	18	3	2.90	29	0	167.2	128	54	94	154	7	1.324	5.0	8.3
2009	BOS	4	6	5.76	12	0	59.1	81	38	30	54	2	1.871	4.6	8.2
2010	BOS	9	6	4.69	25	0	153.2	137	80	74	133	8	1.373	4.3	7.8
2011	BOS	3	3	5.30	7	0	37.1	32	22	23	26	1	1.473	5.5	6.3
2012	BOS	1	7	8.28	11	0	45.2	58	42	20	41	3	1.708	3.9	8.1
2013	NYM	3	3	4.42	7	0	38.2	32	19	16	33	5	1.241	3.7	7.7
2014	NYM	3	3	3.89	9	0	83.1	62	36	50	78	6	1.344	5.4	8.4
BOS	BOS	50	37	4.52	116	1	668.1	627	336	321	609	34	1.418	4.3	8.2

Jeff Suppan

In the nineties Jeff Suppan was a highly touted Red Sox prospect. A 2nd round pick of the team in 1993, Suppan climbed up the ladder successfully. He breezed through both A ball and AA before continuing his success in AAA, leading to his status as the Red Sox top pitching prospect. Suppan made the majors at the age of 20, which might have led to his not panning out. He had some level of success later on, but over parts of three seasons with the Sox to start his career, he posted a 5.99 ERA over 39 games.

After being okay with Kansas City, Suppan went to the Pirates in 2003. In Pittsburgh he won 10 games with a 3.57 ERA. So, what did the Red Sox do? They traded top prospect Freddy Sanchez amongst others to bring him back for the stretch run. Suppan failed the Red Sox again, posting a 5.57 ERA and being left off the playoff roster. He left for the Cardinals in the offseason and had his two best seasons of his career. In 2004 he finally did the best thing he ever did for the Red Sox; he got picked off third base by David Ortiz in the World Series as part of a double play.

Jeff Suppan of the Boston Red Sox throws against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 7, 2003. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Matt Young

Boston brought in Matt Young with talks of his “great arm”. Despite control problems and underwhelming numbers, the Red Sox gave Young a three-year contract for 6.35 million, big money in those days. Young was coming off a season with 18 losses, although his 3.51 ERA wasn’t so bad. However, since his all-star appearance in his rookie season, Young had gone 40-63 with a 4.52 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Those are some pretty bad numbers for the 1980’s. Despite this, the Red Sox felt strongly enough in Young’s left arm they gave him a big contract,

Young is most famous for throwing a no-hitter that doesn’t count as one. In April of 1992 he threw an 8 inning no-hitter against the Indians. The reason it doesn’t go into the record books as a no-hitter is because he only pitched eight innings. The reason he only pitched eight innings, well, he lost. Matt Young walked seven batters that day and the Red Sox lost 2-1. This game pretty much sums up Young’s career.

Despite a three-year contract, the Sox released Young before the 1993 season began, getting two seasons out of him. In those two seasons Young was 3-11 with a 4.91 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. Young walked 5.4 batters per nine innings pitched.

Matt Young of the Boston Red Sox before a game on April 20, 1991 at Fenway Park.(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Steve Avery

Avery came to the Red Sox following a successful stint with the Atlanta Braves. In Atlanta, he teamed with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz to form perhaps the best rotation in baseball. Avery won 72 games with a 3.83 ERA for the Braves over seven seasons. There were reasons to be skeptical however, as Avery’s play had dropped off in recent seasons. From 1991-93 he went 47-25 with a stellar 3.17 ERA. After a decent strike season, Avery fell off the next two years, going 14-23 with a 4.58 ERA. The Red Sox, needing help in their rotation, and a left-hander, signed Avery to a 4.85 million dollar contract with a second year vesting option.

Avery was brutal in 1997 for the Sox, finishing with a 6.42 ERA and 1.82 WHIP. One start shy of his option vesting for 1998, the Red Sox took him out of the rotation. The next month however, not agreeing with the morality of the move, Jimy Williams started Steve Avery for one final game, causing his option to take hold. Avery did do better his second season, going 10-7. He still was not good though, with a 5.02 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. In fact, Avery walked more batters than he struck out that season, 64 to 57. So his two-year totals with his fat contract came to a 5.64 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and -0.7 WAR.

Steve Avery leaves the game after giving up seven runs to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 3rd inning. (TOM MIHALEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Dishonorable Mention:

Mike Smithson, Vaughn Eshelman, John Smoltz, Mike Torrez, Matt Clement, Brian Rose, Gordon Rhodes, Jack Russell