Not a Cub, but an interesting question

In case you hid under a rock the last couple of days, Curt Schilling officially retired on Monday morning. It was a good idea - even if he was able to pitch, he'd lost his velocity, which makes the difference between his fastball and breaking pitches negligible, making him OK at best. And now the debate really begins - is Curt Schilling a Hall of Fame player?

Like most things with Schilling, this is controversial. Even Boston.com, the Internet mouthpiece of the Boston Globe, has writers with differing opinions. Schilling will never have to buy a meal in New England again based on his performance in 2004 alone, so I was kind of surprised the Boston sports writers didn't immediately put him up for deification.

OK, let's set out the argument - if you look at Schilling's career stats there's a lot to like and a lot to pick at, if you're thinking HOF. Stuff to like: 3.46 career ERA, 3116 strikeouts vs. 711 walks, for a K/W ratio of 4.38 (compare that ratio to Nolan Ryan's 2.04 and you'll get how significant that is). And then there's the postseason line: 11-2, 2.23 ERA, 120 strikeouts vs. 35 walks in 133.1 innings, good for a 3.43 K/W ratio. The man was money in the postseason (just ask the Yankees), and really remade himself late in his career.

Stuff to pick at: 216 career wins in 3261 innings, both of which are on the small end of things. He never won a Cy Young, though he finished 2nd three times. And I'm sorry, but you've got to point this out today: His three best strikeout seasons (1997, 2002, and 1998 respectively) came after he turned 30. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'...

Baseball-Reference.com says Schilling's biggest comparable player is Kevin Brown, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for HOF enshrinement. But he also compares well with HOFers Don Drysdale, Dazzy Vance, and Catfish Hunter, along with soon-to-be HOFer John Smoltz (minus the relief stats, of course).

I'm an admitted elitest when it comes to things like the Hall of Fame. In my mind, the Hall of Fame is for the greatest players of all time, not the best in their era. So, one question I'd ask is this: Could I take Curt Schilling in his prime, drop him into Game 7 of the World Series against the All-Century Team line-up and have him come out with a win? Another question: Could I take Curt Schilling, drop him into a Washington Senators uniform in a meaningless August game against the '27 Yankees and have him succeed? Basically, does he stack up against the best of the best all time?

Honestly I'm undecided about this. No question, Schilling is on my short list of players I'd want starting a game my life depended on it's outcome. Does that make him Hall worthy? Does longevity matter? Sure, he denied ever using steroids, but so has everyone until they got caught. Knowing Schilling through the media, do you think he wouldn't have looked that way? I dunno...

So what do you think? Does Curt Schilling belong in the Hall of Fame? I'd love to hear what you think.

(By the way, when Schilling was an unsigned free agent after 2007, I thought the Cubs should sign him. Glad they didn't listen to me...)