Curt Schilling may have been one of the most vital parts of the championship-winning 2004 Red Sox team, but he was notably absent form World Series revelries in Boston on Tuesday night.
Schilling, who pitched six innings during game two with an infamous bloody sock, was notably absent from the 2004 World Series reunion ahead of game two at Fenway Park on Tuesday before the Red Sox squared up against the Dodgers. (RELATED: Red Sox Fans Pulled One Of The Most Disrespectful Moves In Sports History During World Series Game 1)
I strongly dislike Curt Schilling
But he had a makeshift surgery on a Red Sox clubhouse table
Wore this bloody sock
Then had an ALCS Game 6 pitching line:
7 IP 4 H 1 ER 0 BB 4 SO
And DOESN’T deserve to be excluded from World Series festivities or erased from history. pic.twitter.com/XpEIkluMSf
— Terry Cushman (@cushmanMLB) October 25, 2018
Other central players from the 2004 team were present, including David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez and Tim Wakefield.
The band’s back together! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/OxCaYFAa0o
— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2018
According to the Red Sox PR team, Schilling, who was fired from ESPN in 2016 after he posted an anti-transgender meme to Facebook, was not invited because it was supposed to be a small gathering.
“We did not reach out to him, but it is not out of spite,” a Red Sox executive explained. “It was originally just going to be Pedro and David and Wake and Millar, but we heard from a few others and they are included.”
Ceremonial first pitch tonight: 2004 team members David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Keith Foulke, Alan Embree.
No Curt Schilling, who lives locally?
Red Sox exec: “We did not reach out to him, but it is not out of spite.”— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) October 24, 2018
Whatever the reason for his exclusion, Schilling — a Trump supporter — isn’t sweating it.
“I get to keep my 3 rings and 3 trophies, so it’s all good,” he said on Twitter.
Nope. No worries though, great to see @45PedroMartinez @davidortiz and @KMillar15 “The pimper of walks” though. Oh and I get to keep my 3 rings and 3 trophies, so it’s all good. https://t.co/tyUUWhvTPe
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) October 24, 2018
Schilling remains one of the only players to receive the Sports Illustrated Sportsman Of The Year award twice.