CBC article on Curt Schilling

Michael Dorosh

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And from Facebook, Schilling replies to the Hall of Fame:

I want to share with everyone the letter I wrote to the folks at the Hall of Fame yesterday. They’ve been otherworldly kind and gracious in every way possible and I’ll be forever grateful to them and for that.
This was written privately and for their eyes only but I have always been fine with anyone knowing how I feel and what I think.

“Hey guys. Couple things. First off I am not sure I can express my level of gratitude and sincere appreciation at the graciousness, kindness and desire on all your parts to help me navigate this process. I can say at this point I am mentally done. I know math and I know trends and I know I will not attain the 75% threshold for induction.

As I’ve stated often over the past years to those I’ve spoken with in my heart I am at peace. Nothing, zero, none of the claims being made by any of the writers hold merit. In my 22 years playing professional baseball in the most culturally diverse locker rooms in sports I’ve never said or acted in any capacity other than being a good teammate.

I’ve certainly been exposed to racism and sexism and homophobia as it’s part of who human beings are. I’ve played with and talked with gay teammates. I’ve played with wife beaters, adulterers, assaulted, drug addicts and alcoholics. I’ve never hit a woman, driven drunk, done drugs, PEDs or otherwise, assaulted anyone or committed any sort of crime.

But I’m now somehow in a conversation with two men who cheated, and instead of being accountable they chose to destroy others lives to protect their lie.

I will always have one thing they will forever chase. A legacy. Whatever mine is as a player it will be the truth, and one I earned for better or worse.

Having said all that the media has created a Curt Schilling that does not and has never existed. It’s one of the things that has allowed me to sleep at night. Not an ounce of that is to absolve myself of sin, Lord knows I’ve committed my share and will do so again. Never malicious, never to willfully or intentionally hurt another person. I was 100% accountable and still am. Even the thought of responding to claims of “nazi” or “racist” or any other term so watered down and rendered meaningless by spineless cowards who have never met me makes me ill. In modern times responding to such drivel somehow validates the claim.

My love of this country has always been worn on my sleeve. My desire to do the right thing and be a good person has driven most of my life choices. I stood at my locker 400+ times after my starts and took every question and answered honestly. Those people who stood there asking the questions KNOW what they are claiming is untrue yet they quote, re-quote and link to one another story after story that began as lies and grew into bigger ones. The game has made it clear it does not want me back and that’s fine, the game owes me exactly nothing. It gave a billion more times than it took and I’ll forever be deeply in debt to it. My desire to work with and teach young men the art of pitching will be tucked away.

But as I watch my wife battle cancer and go through the grueling soul crushing process of chemotherapy and see her hurt every time some idiot writes another hit piece linking to other hit pieces, none rooted in any sort of truth but rather story after story of “what he meant was” and “what he’s saying is” and “that’s a dog whistle for” all the while providing zero actual acts or quotes of the claims being made I can’t help but to go into deep conversation with my father.

“Never live your life trying to impress people you don’t know, or who don’t know you” and what that means in todays world.

Being an aspie has allowed it to flow like water off a ducks back. But to see the hurt I’m causing my wife and to have my children read and hear this stuff and then look at me and try and match a public “image” that in no way aligns with the man their father is , has been something I never considered.

I do not and never will “scoreboard” the cowards but if I’m not mistaken only Jamie Moyer and I “swept” the humanitarian awards players can win. Awards meant to define who the true man is apart from the player. These same writers voted on those awards. Do those awards and 22 years absent of a single validating event to support their claims define me? Or does a “what he meant to say” tweet? Based on the vote and the pike of dung authored by morally decrepit men like Dan Shaughnessy it’s the latter. I cannot and will not say or do anything to possibly soften a weak willed mans opinion of me if it is not something I believe. Just or not. I’ve chosen Arizona as the team I would have represented if I had been inducted and even though I heard someone there is calling for the DBacks front office to “meet” should the induction happen I’ll stand with that decision as I know Mr Kendrick to be an honorable and kind man. Should that change it most certainly would be the Phillies. What Mr Henry and Mr Werner did to my family and I in my final year has been forgiven but will never be forgotten. One thing this text certifies is that I talk way too much but I know I was never a yes/no answer guy. I apologize for the insane length of this but I guess I needed an outlet and I sure as hell don’t want to dump any of this on a woman who just ended her 3rd chemo and provides the reasons I eat sleep and breathe everyday. Why the text? If by some miracle this would happen I have zero interest in taking questions from the very group who lined up to destroy my character with no regard to anyone in my life or being held to account for their lies. I would and will talk with the guys on the MLB network if you want that, but no one else.

I wanted to reiterate this final point. I will not participate in the final year of voting. I am requesting to be removed from the ballot. I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player. I don’t think I’m a hall of famer as I’ve often stated but if former players think I am then I’ll accept that with honor.

Again, I won’t be able to thank you for your kindness and sincere interest in this process as it pertains to me. I’ll be forever grateful. God Bless you all again and one more time a final thank you for all your efforts to help my family and I.
 

Tim Niesen

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I always though that while in Philadelphia, Curt Schilling told the truth as he saw it. His interviews were done with candor and honesty. The post Carpenter owners were often incompetent and exploited the blind loyalty of their fans. They mistreated Scott Rolen so badly that they drove him out of town. Tim
 

Jazz

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As show of hands....how many will be ordering Manila @~$100.00 a pop?

Just curious......
 

Michael Dorosh

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I don't know Curt, didn't watch baseball that often, but I'm glad a few people speak their minds.
I guess you're not a Jeopardy fan either then....

 

Tim Niesen

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We are ordering it and playing it. My opponent is fascinated by the tank warfare in the Far East. We are glad that the board is smaller than we envisioned it to be. I think that the Maryland office since Covid has been shut down. Correct? Don had asked me if we could drive in his Jag down to Baltimore and pick up the games. Save the DC shipping. Although by the time of publication the Tesla may be received and ready for a road trip. Maybe if the vaccination process is over, they may open again. Who knows? Tim
 

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And from Facebook, Schilling replies to the Hall of Fame:
So this is all wrong? From WP:

At issue is this: Schilling has promoted transphobic thoughts via social media, a transgression that was the final straw in his firing by ESPN. Given a platform by right-wing media outlet Breitbart, he hosted a podcast in which he welcomed a congressional candidate who endorsed White supremacy. He promoted a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt that read “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required” by tweeting, “Ok, so much awesome here …” He accepted a $75 million loan from the state of Rhode Island to bring his gaming business — then defaulted on the loan, ultimately filing for bankruptcy and agreeing to repay the state $61 million. On and on.


And after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, he tweeted support for the rioters, saying in part, “sit back [shut up] and watch folks start a confrontation for [stuff] that matters like rights, democracy and the end of [government] corruption.”


I hope it is.
 

Michael Dorosh

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So this is all wrong? From WP:

At issue is this: Schilling has promoted transphobic thoughts via social media, a transgression that was the final straw in his firing by ESPN. Given a platform by right-wing media outlet Breitbart, he hosted a podcast in which he welcomed a congressional candidate who endorsed White supremacy. He promoted a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt that read “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required” by tweeting, “Ok, so much awesome here …” He accepted a $75 million loan from the state of Rhode Island to bring his gaming business — then defaulted on the loan, ultimately filing for bankruptcy and agreeing to repay the state $61 million. On and on.


And after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, he tweeted support for the rioters, saying in part, “sit back [shut up] and watch folks start a confrontation for [stuff] that matters like rights, democracy and the end of [government] corruption.”


I hope it is.
I thought it was a kick to be on his friends list on FB, but after a while I quietly removed myself because of some of his political rants. I didn't necessarily disagree with some of the stuff he was saying, but the frequency and venom with what it was said turned me off. The suggestion about hanging journalists seems fairly representative of what I remember about my experiences with his online postings.

The game company was discussed here as well, don't know what the whole story was, I don't think anyone here wished him ill. I seem to recall opinions being that he probably got in over his head in an area that was fairly new to him.
 

Michael Dorosh

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Probably worth suggesting also that Wikipedia tends to lean more left than right, consistent with editorial biases of the other major mainstream media. So talking to someone on his podcast who happened to have white supremacist beliefs is reported as if it reflects on Schilling's own character and beliefs.


When Oprah does it, it's because she's edgy and brave, when Schilling does it, well obviously it's because he has to be a closet Nazi.
 

von Marwitz

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The suggestion about hanging journalists seems fairly representative of what I remember about my experiences with his online postings.
Well, then it appears to me that at the least it is questionable that his views stand in line with what one can consider a democratic system.

I don't care about baseball. Nor do I know if he is or has been important for that sport. Nor do I need to if that award thing he has not earned now has anything to do with societal responsibility. In that case he does not deserve it. If that award thing has solely to do with throwing around some balls, it might be a different matter.

von Marwitz
 

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No more political posts in this thread
Probably worth suggesting also that Wikipedia tends to lean more left than right, consistent with editorial biases of the other major mainstream media. So talking to someone on his podcast who happened to have white supremacist beliefs is reported as if it reflects on Schilling's own character and beliefs.


When Oprah does it, it's because she's edgy and brave, when Schilling does it, well obviously it's because he has to be a closet Nazi.
Precisely. Any left-wing reports of so-called right wing activities (which are often merely free-speech based commentary that disagree with leftish positions) are all too often reported as fascist, nazi-ist, racist, and so on. They are often misquoted to be perceived as monstrous, or to try to get them to shut up.

Left-wing reports of left wing positions usually ignore the odious aspects of their commentary, which are often even worse -- but they get away with it because the leftish mainstream media is aligned with them.
 

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Without commenting on any of Schilling's behaviour or comments, the basic fact for me is this:

He's being compared to Bonds and Clemens. Bonds and Clemens (a) both cheated the game via steroid use and (b) both allegedly committed other serious crimes, with fairly serious evidence in the public realm. Schilling is guilty of neither. He just has - in the view of some, not all! - obnoxious views and obnoxious ways of expressing them. Utterly different situation.
 

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I would be interested to know how much money MMP makes and what their markup on the games is.

Anyone have access to a set of accounts please?
 
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