A look at Curt Schilling’s one-sided trade history
Dec 9, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; ESPN baseball analyst Curt Schilling talks during the MLB Winter Meetings at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Schilling is joining ESPN
When it came to trading pitcher Curt Schilling, teams were probably not thinking about his political beliefs. Traded five times in his career, each transaction ended up one-sided in favor of the team that acquired Schilling.
This is a look at each of those trades and how the players involved did.
Oct 9, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles former center fielder Brady Anderson is interviewed during workouts the day before game one of the 2014 ALCS at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
Traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles (7/29/88)
The Boston Red Sox were the team that drafted Schilling in 1986. He never pitched for them during this stint with the franchise as they traded him to the Baltimore Orioles before he reached the majors.
Along with outfielder Brady Anderson, Schilling was sent to Baltimore in exchange for starting pitcher Mike Boddicker.
Boddicker went 7-3 for the Red Sox down the stretch in for Boston in 1998. He remained with the Red Sox through 1990. A very solid starter with 39 wins in the 83 games he pitched for Boston, Boddicker was far from Schilling.
More important in this trade was the acquisition of Anderson. He ended up staying with the Orioles through 2001. Anderson made the All-Star team three times and his most memorable season came in 1996, when he clubbed 50 home runs.
Aug 2, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies wall of fame inductee Curt Schilling is introduced during the 2013 Philadelphia Phillies wall of fame induction ceremony prior to playing the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves defeated the Phillies 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Houston Astros (1/10/91)
The second trade of Schilling’s career took place in January 1991. After limited time with the Orioles primarily spent as a relief pitcher, Schilling was sent to the Houston Astros with outfielder Steve Finley and pitcher Pete Harnisch. In return, the Orioles received Glenn Davis.
At the time, Davis was a power-hitting first baseman who had never hit fewer than 20 home runs in a season. A nerve injury to his neck before the season even began suddenly slowed down his ability to produce. Davis hit only .247 with 24 home runs over parts of three seasons with the Orioles. He retired after the 1993 season.
Meanwhile, Schilling had a nice season out of the bullpen for the Astros going 3-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 75 2/3 innings.
The two players the Astros received along with Schilling ended up staying longer than he did and had much bigger roles. Finley spent four seasons with the Astros, hitting .281 and stealing 110 bases. Harnisch was also with the Astros for four years and went 45-33 with a 3.41 ERA, especially impressing when he won 16 games in 1993.
Aug 3, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton (32) and Curt Schilling (38) greet each other during Phillies Alumni Weekend ceremony before game against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Traded from the Houston Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies (4/2/92)
The lopsided trades continued the next year when just before the 1992 season began, when Schilling was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Grimsley. As a member of the Phillies, Schilling experienced his first rise to prominence. They gave him a chance to become a starting pitcher and he excelled immediately.
In 1992, Schilling had 10 complete games and also tossed four shutouts. He finished with a 101-78 record with a 3.35 ERA as a member of the Phillies until he was traded in 2000. Schilling also reached the coveted 300 strikeout milestone twice, doing so in both 1997 and 1998.
As for Grimsley, he spent the entire 1992 season with the Astros pitching in the minor leagues. He was released in March 1993 without ever pitching a game for the big league team. He would have a long career, but none of his major league appearances with the Astros.
Mar 15, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Puerto Rico starting pitcher Nelson Figueroa (27) throws in the fifth inning during the World Baseball Classic against United States at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Arizona Diamondbacks (7/26/00)
After a long tenure with the Phillies, Schilling was eventually traded again when in 2000 he was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now that Schilling was a star, the asking price was much higher. The Phillies received a bundle of pitchers, including Omar Daal, Vicente Padilla, and Nelson Figueroa along with first baseman Travis Lee, in return for the right-hander.
Daal, the veteran of the group, finished off the 2000 season with the Phillies going 2-9 with a 4.69 ERA. He returned again only for the 2001 season where he was 13-7 with a 4.46 ERA.
Padilla remained in Philadelphia through the 2005 season and actually pitched well at times. In parts of six seasons with the Phillies, Padilla was 49-49 with a 3.98 ERA.
Figueroa wore a Phillies’ uniform for only one season and had a very limited role as a spot starter. He went 4-5 with a 3.94 ERA during this first stint with the Phillies before returning again in 2010.
Lee stayed with the team through the end of the 2002 season. He hit an underwhelming 34 home runs with a .258 batting average for the Phillies over the two-and-a-half years he played in Philadelphia.
These four players contributed on a nightly basis for the Phillies, but they were severely outmatched by what Schilling did in Arizona.
In just his first full season with the team in 2001, Schilling helped lead the Diamondbacks to an improbable World Series victory over the New York Yankees. He finished second to teammate Randy Johnson in 2001 and 2002 in the Cy Young voting, winning 45 total games Schilling had reached a new level of greatness that nobody thought he could ever achieve.
Aug 14, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa (29) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Boston Red Sox (11/28/03)
The final trade of Schilling’s career took place after the 2003 season. Schilling was coming off a season where he only started 24 games due to injuries. The Diamondbacks must have thought he was done because they were willing to trade him back to the team that originally drafted him, the Boston Red Sox.
In return for Schilling, the Diamondbacks received pitchers Casey Fossum, Jorge De La Rosa, Brandon Lyon, and outfielder Mike Goss. The results followed the trend.
Fossum spent one season with the Diamondbacks and had a terrible year. He went 4-15 with a 6.65 ERA.
De La Rosa never pitched for the Diamondbacks and ended his time with the organization when he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, along with others, for Richie Sexson.
Lyon had the longest career with the Diamondbacks, but not a particularly impressive one. During the four seasons he spent with the Diamondbacks out of the bullpen, Lyon was 11-15 with a 4.03 ERA. In 2008, he did save 26 games, but at the cost of a 4.70 ERA.
Finally there’s Goss, who never made it to the big leagues.
Schilling finished his career as a member of the Red Sox. Although things were not perfect, Boston won this trade handily. Schilling’s 21-6 record in the 2004 regular season helped get the Red Sox to the postseason and his infamous “Bloody Sock” game was crucial in getting them to the World Series where they eventually won and broke the drought.
Schilling won the World Series with the Red Sox again in 2007. The last game he pitched before riding off into the sunset was in a World Series victory over the Colorado Rockies days before the sweep was complete and the Red Sox were champions again.
Aug 2, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies wall of fame inductee Curt Schilling waves to fans as he is driven around the ballpark prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Summary
Each time Schilling was traded, the return was far weaker than what the teams got back. While some players did have good careers, none helped make any deal even close to even.
Out of all of the players Schilling was traded for, the only one to make an All-Star team after the trade was Padilla with the Phillies in 2002. Of the teams that traded him away, only the Phillies and Red Sox have won the World Series after. It took the Phillies eight years after their trade of the righty to win it and the Red Sox trading back for him to get their championship.
One-sided trades are nothing unusual. For it to happen this many times with one player involved though, we have to wonder if the teams who traded him away ever appreciated what they had.