Curt Schilling's Best Game as a Phillie

by David S. Cohen on Mar 24, 2009 10:26 AM EDT

With Curt Schilling announcing his retirement yesterday, I couldn't help but think about what had been, until this past October, my favorite memory of watching a Phillies game in person. (Game 5 parts A and B will forever be my number 1 memory now.)

Schilling started the 1993 World Series with a horrible outing. He lasted 6.3 innings, but gave up 7 runs (6 earned), including 2 home runs (to Devon White and John Olerud), 8 hits, and 2 walks. The Phillies never overcame the deficit Schilling gave them, losing Game 1 8-5.

The next three games didn't go so well for the Phils. They won the next game 6-4 thanks to a decent outing from Terry Mulholland, home runs from Jim Eisenreich and Lenny Dykstra, and a relatively quiet save from Mitch Williams (yes, he did occasionally get quiet saves). The Blue Jays slaughtered the Phils in Game 3 by a 10-3 score.

Then came the most exhilirating trainwreck of a game the Phillies have ever played. Many people who watched Game 4 of that Series must have spent the night in the emergency room with heart problems. The game featured 5 lead changes, 29 runs, 32 hits, and 11 pitchers. The Phils lost 15-14, and took a 3-1 deficit into Game 5.

It was at that point that my big gamble paid off. I was a senior in college that year. I went to college in New Hampshire, so going to Phillies post-season games was rather difficult. The playoffs presented me with a problem. I could drive to Philly for one of the playoff games and be guaranteed to see a post-season game in person. But, if I did that, I wouldn't be able to drive down again for a World Series game, if the Phillies got that far. I could wait for the World Series, but if the Phillies didn't get that far, I would have missed my opportunity to see post-season play. I decided to take the gamble, and got lucky as the Phillies advanced and I wound up with a ticket to Game 5.

Game 5 was unbelievable. Curt Schilling was on the mound, and it was quite obvious from the beginning that he had his A game. He easily breezed through the Blue Jays lineup in the early innings, and got 2 scrappy runs from the Phillies hitters. With the score 2-0 after two innings and Schlling on fire, the crowd, nervous because of what had happened the night before, slowly realized what was happening: Curt Schilling was pitching the game of his life, and one of the best games the Phillies have ever had pitched for them.

Schilling scattered 5 hits and 3 walks over 9 innings. There was no way Mitch Williams was coming in to finish this game. Schilling faced a scare in the 8th, but when he re-appeared in the 9th, the crowd was going wild. Never have I seen such an excited crowd for a pitching duel. After the 15-14 craziness the night before, Schilling's 2-0 complete game shutout was an incredible jolt to the fans and the team. Even after this past October, I still consider that game one of my top live sporting experiences ever.

Of course, then there was Mitch Williams and Joe Carter and dashed hopes and dreams for another 15 years. But that doesn't change Curt Schilling's best game as a Phillie.

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Game Four

I’ve always said that Game Four of that Series was the real backbreaker. Game Five was more or less false hope. It was clear that the bullpen was totally cooked. I’ve always kind of wondered how that game affected Schilling’s psychology; did it make him an “attention junkie” in a way that altered his career arc?

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Mar 24, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions

Game Four didn’t happen, OK? It didn’t happen!

by taco pal on Mar 24, 2009 10:54 AM EDT reply actions

the worst

By far my worst sports memory ever. Joe Carter didn’t crush me, because I knew in my heart when Mitchie got the ball, the Jays would be winners.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Mar 24, 2009 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions

by the way...

This is a great piece, David. It really took me back to that sliver of time between games that, in hindsight, was incredibly brief, but seemed like forever. Remember the gap between Games 5A and 5B last fall? Seemed like forever, huh?

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Mar 24, 2009 1:07 PM EDT reply actions

Absurdly long

The time from leaving the stadium Monday in the rain to going back to the stadium Wednesday evening felt like forever. Bud Selig is evil!

by David S. Cohen on Mar 24, 2009 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions

still feels that way

it still feels like Game 5A and 5B were played days apart. i remember so much of the anxiety during that time period. i remember it like it was weeks. and the hour and a half in standing room in the cold before Game 5B really felt like weeks. i think that was the hardest part.

ultimately, i think that casual baseball fans don’t really remember who won the world series every year, and the bizarreness maybe will make more people remember the phillies win as time passes. that part is nice.

by Matt Swartz on Mar 24, 2009 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Can you imagine Curt Schilling circa 2004 on the Phillies of 08 or 09? Ugh. It wouldn’t matter who the Mets pay to unscrew themselves.

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

-- Benjamin Franklin

by Red_October on Mar 24, 2009 11:05 PM EDT reply actions

Game 5 was remarkable

I went to game 4 that year with a friend. We were young associates at a law firm and had one of the senior partner’s tickets in the boxes right behind third base. We were so close that you could see the blood goatee on Todd Stottlemyre when he slid face first into third base. Watching that game unravel in the chilly drizzle was one of the most depressing moments I’ve experienced as a Phillies fan. Both my friend and I wandered around the stadium, nearly walking into traffic, after the game, until one of us thought to get in a cab to get us back to center city without us having to think about anything.

Anyway, I was shattered and assumed the team would be too. But up stepped Mr. Schilling in game 5 and pitched like a hero — completely dominating the Jays and making Mitch Williams irrelevant. Sure it was false hope, but what a much needed restorative. I can’t think of another game at any time when a pitcher pitched so well at a time when his team absolutely needed it the most.

by MJW on Mar 27, 2009 2:12 PM EDT reply actions