3,000

If you'll notice, the "ball in play" in my example was a liner to second base.

And a strikeout is NO BETTER than a lineout to second base.

Hell, a lineout to second MIGHT even get you a double play. A strikeout won't get you one.

 

He's pitched great in big games.

Just not the absolute biggest, the WS.

 

Actually, I think that's almost as inaccurate. Eck made the rare mistake of walking someone before a crippled Kirk Gibson battled back from an 0-2 count to go deep. Schilling was masterful for seven innings before he gave up a homer to a rookie who would become one of the greatest power-speed guys in the game.

And yes, Hokie (you'll always be Hokie to me you silly ass ) Clemens was great in that game. But Schilling didn't waste any time in becoming a stud postseason pitcher.

 

I'm gonna sound like a Red Sox fanboy looooser here, but I'm on the Schilling bandwagon.

He did something to that team in '04 once he came aboard, and that intangible allowed the streak to be broken and the Sox to sweep the back end of the ALCS.

You could argue that Schilling and Johnson displayed a similar mojo with Arizona in '01.

And I am not a big Pedro-in-big-games fan. The game in '04 (either end of regular season or playoffs) where the Yankees made him their bitch, and he said the Yanks were his daddy, is a prime example.

 

Can you take a metaphor-less point & leave me alone?

 

Fair enough. I understand what you're getting at ... he was awfully good in that big game situation. I still don't think it's enough for Schill to be a shoo-in.

I guess I have trouble with Schill's overall resume. HOFs should be dominant for a long time. Here's what I consider to be his dominant years:

1992 (14-11, 2.35, 147 K)
1997 (17-11, 2.97, 319 K)
2001 (22-6, 2.98, 293 K)
2002 (23-7, 3.23, 316 K)
2004 (21-6, 3.26, 203 K)

He had several other "very good" years, but they weren't dominating. He's in the conversation in my mind for sure, and very seriously so. But I wouldn't guarantee him a spot.

 

Remembering the Glenn Davis trade.

Harnisch (out of the game), Schilling and Finley have put in 43 ML seasons since the trade.

Wonder if that is a record.

 

And if you look at Baseball Reference's page on Schill, his stats comparisons are most like:

1. David Cone (914)
2. Dazzy Vance (906) *
3. Dwight Gooden (902)
4. Kevin Brown (897)
5. Jimmy Key (897)
6. John Candelaria (893)
7. Lon Warneke (890)
8. Mike Cuellar (888)
9. Mike Mussina (888)
10. Bob Welch (880)

Vance is the only HOFer in that group.

 

The sock games, though, will live forever and it's wonderful that we have TV to thank for their preservation. It's one of those situations where, if you haven't seen either of those games, you'll wish you had because you've heard so much about them. For example, I'd give a month's salary to see a tape of Harvey Haddix's 12-inning perfect game.

I did miss it. Baseball ceased to exist in most of Canada after the Jays started to tank in 1994. It hung around in Quebec for a year or so after because the Expos were still good.

Seriously, I totally forgot that the Yankee My Wankees won three straight.

 

True, Hokie, but look at Schilling's off-the-charts HOF monitor.

That's not a be-all end-all by any stretch, and it takes playoff performances into account. But it's still a pretty resounding number.

 

In fairness, the tick did in Glenn Davis.

 

With a name like Dazzy Vance, how could he not be a Hall of Famer?

Speaking of Jimmy Key, that guy may have been the most underrated and unappreciated pitcher to ever wear a Blue Jays uniform. He spent most of his Toronto career in Dave Stieb's shadow and was only considered the ace of the staff once in his nine years there.

But he was consistently good, the first great lefty developed by the Jays' farm system, and a hell of a nice person on top of that. And, as Yankee fans well know, he was also a big-game pitcher who always rose to the occasion.

I remember that, as the 1992 season was coming to an end, everybody was pretty sure Jimmy was going to leave as a free agent. During the World Series he got the win as a starter in Game 4 and as a reliever in the Game 6 clincher, and I'll never forget the last time he pitched for the home team at the SkyDome. He pitched into the eighth inning in Game 4 and allowed only one run before giving way to Duane Ward, and he received a monumental standing ovation as he left the field. He made sure to tip his cap to the fans, a classy, classy guy right to the end. It was only fitting that he got to leave Toronto as a world champion.

We still miss you, Jimmy.