Boston Sports

Schilling Faces Potentially Career-Ending Surgery

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is to undergo season-ending, and potentially career-ending, shoulder surgery.

Schilling said the operation is scheduled for Monday in Delaware. "I am set to have what could be extensive and potentially career ending shoulder surgery on Monday," he said in his blog, 38 Pitches. "The result of that surgery could be waking up and being told 'It's been a nice run big man, but you're done' or 'It wasn't THAT bad, but it's going to take serious time and effort to ever pitch again.'"

Although it is not clear what kind of surgery Schilling will be having, he said it would involve the relocation of his bicep muscle, among other things. "I'm going to make it not hurt anymore," he said.

One thing Schilling does know, if he can't get back to fighting form, he's not coming back at all. "If there is not an option to come back and be good, I won't."

The 41-year-old Boston Red Sox right-hander described how the pain has affected his pitching on Friday. "If you use a scale of one to 10, and 10 is pitching in the big leagues, I'm at about three right now."

Schilling, who's been out since the start of spring training, underwent an MRI Tuesday, and after conferring with Dr. Morgan and Dr. Gill, a decision was made to do the surgery. Until a couple weeks ago, Schilling had still planned to stick with rehab. "We had a rough couple of weeks, so a lot of stuff happened over the last couple of days," Schilling said. "I met with Dr. Morgan ... and Dr. Gill. It got to a point we had to make some decisions."

Schilling said if it was all over today, his memories of the game would include his fans and their support. "The four years I was allowed the honor of wearing this uniform, I would hope you believe I did so with honor, integrity and respect, for the game but more importantly for my manager, coaches and teammates."

The Red Sox are deep in starting pitching even without Schilling and have the second best record in the majors, trailing only the Chicago Cubs.

Josh Beckett is the ace, Daisuke Matsuzaka is 8-0 with a 2.53 ERA, and youngsters Jon Lester and Justin Masterson are having solid seasons. Bartolo Colon, the AL Cy Young award winner in 2005, is 4-2 after signing a minor league contract during spring training, and Tim Wakefield is 4-4 with the second most innings pitched on the staff.

The Red Sox also have Clay Buchholz, who began the season with Boston but is now at Triple-A Pawtucket. He pitched a no-hitter in his second major league start last Sept. 1.

Schilling ended last season, his 20th, with 3,116 strikeouts, 14th most in baseball history. And he's been dominant in the postseason with an 11-2 record, the best of any pitcher with at least 10 decisions.

In 2004, his first season with the Red Sox after being traded from Arizona, Schilling became a sports icon in Boston when he won Game 6 of the ALCS and Game 2 of the World Series after a surgical procedure to suture a loose tendon in his right ankle. His bloodstained right sock became a part of baseball history.

Schilling spent part of last season on the disabled list with what the team said was tendinitis in his right shoulder and went 9-8 with a 3.47 ERA in 24 starts. Then came the postseason and he was outstanding again. In four starts, he went 3-0, including a 2-1 win over Colorado in the second game of Boston's sweep of the World Series.

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