The Transformer

If Curtis Montague Schilling never pitches again, it is fitting that his final game will have been a 2-1 nail-biting win in the 2007 World Series. On October 25, 2007, Curt took the mound at Fenway and twirled 5 1/3 typical innings—just one run, just four hits, two walks and four strikeouts. He threw 82 pitches, 55 for strikes—67%. He left the mound with a 2-1 lead in the 6th and got a rousing ovation from the sellout crowd. What we didn't know was that it might have been our last chance to thank the transformational figure that made us really believe that our dream of a World Championship was an actual possibility. He came here to win it all, and did.

In his early blogging on the Sons Of Sam Horn website, Curt talked about the effect of his fabled preparation:

"I've always thought that once I started doing all the work to prepare for games, the only thing that would be different from Game 1 of spring training to Game 7 of the World Series was the 27 outs I needed to get, all the other stuff would always be present, but narrowing my focus would allow me to not have time to get caught up in it."

Will we ever forget the image of Curt, between innings, poring over his notebook to prepare for the upcoming hitters? Or Manny sitting next to him on the bench shrugging his shoulders to the camera? This stuff is for the ages. We are all supremely lucky to have witnessed a consummate professional do his job at the highest level.

If this really is the end, we thank you Curtis Montague Schilling. You were "The Transformer".