Red Sox Render Schilling Persona Non Grata

Before Game 2 of the World Series last night in Boston, seven members of the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Keith Foulke and Alan Embree each threw out a first pitch and were embraced by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts whose stolen base off Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the ALCS made the scene possible.


Notably absent was ace pitcher Curt Schilling who lives in Massachusetts. The Red Sox confirmed they did not reach out to Schilling, but said it wasn't done out of spite.

Of course it was done out of spite. The specific spite in question is Schilling's support for President Trump. It's the same spite which is keeping him out of the Baseball Hall of Fame as I argued in my very first article for National Review Online last year. Not only it is keeping him out of Cooperstown, it is keeping out of Fenway Park. This is wrong. Curt Schilling came to the Red Sox to break an 86-year old curse and would not have done so without him. Indeed, if not for Schilling, the Red Sox very well could have been trying to win their first World Series in 100 years.


It's almost enough to make me want to put another curse on the Red Sox and root for the Dodgers.