A number of big names have already been linked to the Philadelphia Phillies since they announced the firing of manager Gabe Kapler on Thursday, and Curt Schilling is hoping to throw his into the ring.
Schilling, who pitched for the Phillies during the prime of his MLB career, is interested in landing a coaching job in 2020. He has “significant interest” in the Phillies’ vacant managerial position and would also be open to joining the Red Sox in a coaching role, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Friends close to Curt Schilling say he would love to get back into the game, and has significant interest in interviewing for the the #Phillies managerial opening and/or the #RedSox pitching coach job.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 11, 2019
For many reasons, there’s very little chance the interest is mutual.
Schilling was undoubtedly one of the best pitchers of his generation, but he has also become one of the most controversial figures in sports since he retired. He has been open in sharing his extreme conservative views and gotten himself into hot water for it on more than one occasion, including when he created a stir with a racist tweet a few years back. More recently, Schilling said he would already be in the Baseball Hall of Fame if he did not openly support Donald Trump.
While he helped the Red Sox win the World Series in both 2004 (with the famous bloody sock) and 2007, Schilling has since unloaded on the team’s ownership group for not inviting him to a commemorative celebration of the 2004 team. It seems unlikely that the Red Sox would overlook that.
Schilling would probably make a great pitching coach, but we doubt any team will think he’s worth the potential headache.
