Curt Schilling Retires, Sox Fans Say Thank You

Curt Schilling announced today, via his WEEI blog (which is down at the moment), that he is officially retiring from Major League Baseball after 23 seasons, three World Championships and one promise to Red Sox fans beautifully fulfilled back in 2004.

We've come to know Schilling as a man of many hats: pitcher, blogger, politico, online game maven, Gehrig38 and a WEEI caller-turned-writer. Say what you will about Schilling - and we all do - but the fact remains that the man rode into Boston after the 2003 season and the most famous Thanksgiving dinner in Red Sox history with two goals: to become a part of Boston and to deliver World Series victory. Along the way, his postseason efforts joined an elite list of magical 2004 moments that you wouldn't believe if you hadn't witnessed it as it unfolded (which is why we can refer to the Sock, the Fight, the Steal, the Comeback and the Win).

Schilling's final pitch with the Sox was ceremonial - a bouncer that began the emotional rollercoaster that was Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS. By that point, riddled with injury, the pitcher Sox fans knew was already gone. His retirement was already widely expected. But the man got a standing ovation anyway. He was being honored that night for the Curt Schilling of 2004 through 2007.

We will likely say much about this man in the years to come (primarily because he'll prompt us to by opening his mouth on any subject imaginable), but our hope is that Boston always remembers that Schilling of yesteryear.

Today, we simply say thank you, Curt.

Photo by flickr user Eric Kilby