Curt Schilling interested in Phillies’, Red Sox’s jobs What’s next for Phils after Kapler?
Curt Schilling, who hasn’t thrown a pitch since the 2007 World Series but has since become one of the sport’s most polarizing figures for his rightwing political views, wants back in the game.
Schilling, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, has often spoken about entering the political arena but instead is ready to throw his hat into the world of baseball.
Schilling wants to interview for the Philadelphia Phillies’ managerial vacancy after the firing of Gabe Kapler. He says he is also interested in the Boston Red Sox’s pitching coach opening.
“I think it’s one of the few openings since I left that I ‘fit,’ ” Schilling told USA TODAY in a text message of the Phillies’ job. “I know the city. I know the fans and I know the expectations.”
A six-time All-Star, threetime World Series champion and three-time Cy Young runner-up, Schilling pitched nine years for the Phillies. He later won a World Series championship with the Arizona Diamondbacks and two more with the Boston Red Sox.
“The media,” he says, “won’t be an issue.”
Oh, yeah, the news media. The same group whose lynching Schilling applauded when he retweeted an image that read: “Rope. Tree. Journalist.” Schilling said at the time it was “100% sarcasm.”
Schilling joined the news media in 2010 after retiring in 2007, working as an analyst for ESPN. He was fired in 2016 after sharing a Facebook post related to the North Carolina transgender law.
“The only downside to the firing was, in addition to (lost) finances, I had a lot of very dear friends that I worked with that I loved,” he told USA TODAY three years ago. “But I worked for people that didn’t have a spine and didn’t want to stand for something other than what their bosses told them to stand for.”
Schilling, who appeared on 60.9% of the ballots last year in the Hall of Fame voting, believes that his conservative political views has kept him from being elected.
He went 216-146 with a 3.46 ERA in his career and was nothing short of sensational in the postseason, going 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 starts, and 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA in the World Series.
He and Roger Clemens are the only pitchers with 3,000 or more strikeouts not in the Hall of Fame. He has three years left on the ballot.
Schilling filed for bankruptcy in 2014 when his gaming company went bankrupt in Rhode Island – losing $50 million of his own money along with $75 million invested by Rhode Island – and says he is now financially stable.
Schilling says his interest in getting back into baseball is not about money or attention. It just feels like the right time.
“I make mistakes,” Schilling said three years ago. “I’ve said dumb things, but I’ve never done anything malicious to hurt anybody. Never intentionally, anyway. As a Christian, I’m trying to do the right thing, but I don’t always do it.”
Let’s be honest, Gabe Kapler was never a Philly guy.
Oh, he loved the city, moving there full time two years ago when he was named manager of the Phillies, but the fans never loved him back.
He wasn’t their type. They didn’t want some Southern California weightlifting dude who tans naked, eats sprouts and drinks protein shakes.
They want their managers to drink six-packs after games.
The only chance Kapler had to survive in Philadelphia was to win.
And he didn’t.
Last week, Kapler was fired, making it eight managerial openings in baseball.
The move was made by Phillies owner John Middleton.
“Why do you think there’s a CEO?” Middleton, the Phillies’ managing partner who identifies as the chief executive officer, said at a news conference, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We’re paid to make the big decisions. We get paid to ensure our organization meets its strategical objectives.”
Middleton didn’t have the patience to wait, not after his free agent spending frenzy last winter, dropping $330 million on Bryce Harper only to finish with an 81-81 record.
So Kapler is gone along with pitching coach Chris Young, and even the training staff. Hello, Joe Maddon. Or welcome home, Mike Scioscia.
Are you ready to lead a team to the World Series, Buck Showalter or Joe Girardi?
Maddon, who’s from Hazelton, Pennsylvania, would certainly be the Phillies’ top choice.
Yet, according to three people with knowledge of his thinking, Maddon’s preference is to return to his roots with the Los Angeles Angels, where he has interviewed.
His second choice is the San Diego Padres. And then the Phillies.
But money talks, and if someone is willing to give Maddon a five-year, $30 million deal, he’ll pack his RV and be there tomorrow.
The Phillies’ job is a fabulous one in a proud city, and Kapler realizes that someone is walking into a great gig.
“We came into 2019 with very high hopes,” Kapler said in a statement. “We fell short of those, and that responsibility lies with me.
“The next Phillies manager will inherit a team of talented, dedicated and committed players.”
Kapler, who vowed two years ago when he got the job that he would bring a World Series to Philadelphia, leaves with a 161-163 record, and no playoff appearances.
The Phillies were the favorites to win the NL East this year, particularly with the additions of Harper and All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto. They had a 3½-game lead in the division on May 30, 11 games over .500. And collapsed. Once again, just like in 2018 when they lost 33 of their final 49 games, finishing with an 80-82 record. Kapler paid the price.
And if the Phillies miss the playoff again, general manager Matt Klentak will be the next to go.
It was Phillies president Andy MacPhail who said several years ago that a GM gets only so many managerial hires until he is fired.
This will be Klentak’s second hire. He will not be around for a third.