Duffy vs. Schilling

Ever since the early 1990s I have been a Curt Schilling fan. If it wasn't for Schilling and his playoff heroics, 1993 would've been just another year for me and the Phillies. When he was traded to Arizona, I was still a fan (even though the Phillies got robbed in that trade) and I was happy that he won the World Series over the Yankees (which made it even sweeter). After the 2003 season, Schilling almost became a Phillie again, but the Red Sox swooped in and offered the Diamondbacks a better deal, so he was traded to Boston. Even though he wasn't headed back here, I was still happy that he was at least going to the Red Sox and we all know how that turned out. So, as you can see, my relationship with Schilling was a great one and even though it seems like he never shuts up, I was still a fan.



Well, all of that changed on Sunday when I read about how he drilled Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder, Chris Duffy (no relation, unfortunately, though he was on my fantasy team last year), in the head with a fastball. Actually, that isn't really the truth. I don't have a problem that he hit someone with my last name in the head with a fastball because it wasn't intentional and that kind of stuff happens when you're trying to establish the inside half of the plate. My problem is what Schilling said after the game about hitting Duffy (and just so things are clearer, Schilling is working on throwing more inside this Spring, which is something he's never really done before in his career). Here are quotes from Curt Schilling, and his catcher at the time, Josh Bard (full article here):

Schilling: "The bottom line is that ball should not have hit him. You got to be able to get out of the way of that pitch. The ball that I threw in before that, I jammed him with. I had thrown him a couple balls in the first at-bat, so he was conscious then, but not tentative, not worried in. There's a big difference. I said the same thing to Josh, there's just no way they shouldn't be able to get out of the way of that pitch. So obviously it's something I have to continue to work on."

Josh Bard: "Sometimes you're going to hit guys and that's part of the game and there's no intention. The thing that stinks is the one that hit Duffy really wasn't that far inside. He threw a lot more pitches that were more inside than that. It was just kind of up in the zone."

What bothers me is that both Schilling and Bard believe that Duffy should have been able to get out of the way of a 90+ MPH fastball coming towards his head. If a pitch hits someone in the head, then obviously it was hard for the batter to get out of the way. I mean, it's not like it was headed towards his feet. I know it was a mistake that, but you can never blame the batter for getting hit in the head, especially when it's Spring Training (when the games count for nothing), and it could potentially kill him. Who knows, maybe Chris Duffy wanted to die. From the way Schilling and Bard reacted it sounded like he at least wanted a concussion (which is what happened).



So, like the Duffy that he is, Chris took exception to what Schilling said once he was informed of the comments that were made. This is where the story gets awesome. While I was reading this article from the Pirates webpage, I realized that I don't think I've ever been as proud to read the name "Duffy" in print (whether it was my actual name or not) before in my lifetime. Just in case you're afraid of clicking links, here's what Duffy said (in three parts, followed by my reaction):

PART ONE

Chris Duffy: "I didn't believe Schilling said it at first. My dad called me and told me what he said. I didn't know how credible my dad's source was. Then I read it and was kind of like, 'What's up?'"

John Duffy: "As you can see here, it's obvious that Chris Duffy is a cool guy. First of all, it appears that he has a nice relationship with his dad that involves frequent phone calls, which I like. Second of all, he questioned his dad's source, which shows that he just wasn't going to fly off the handle and say something stupid until he read it himself. Third, he wound up reading it (I've yet to meet an illiterate Duffy) and then gave a classic reaction that any 25 year old would give."

PART TWO

Chris Duffy: "In that situation we've got to man up and say you are wrong when you are wrong. I saw the tape [and] there was no way I could have moved out of the way. For him to just blow it off, that's not great sportsmanship. There is a certain way to handle things. That wasn't it."

John Duffy: "Chris Duffy's stock just keeps going up in my book. Not only did he call out Curt Schilling's lack of sportsmanship, but he told him to 'man up,' all while putting the incident (or is it a fiasco?) into perspective. How can you not love that?"

PART THREE

Chris Duffy (this quote can be found here): ""I didn't see that I could have gotten out of the way. I understand it's part of the game -- trying to establish the inside part of the plate -- but it's a Spring Training game. For as long as he's been around, he should understand there are certain things you don't say. If you want to get a point across [by pitching inside], you should have enough control not to hit somebody in the head. I heard he hit a Minor League kid in the head a few days ago. Maybe it was the Minor League kid's fault he got hit, you know? Sometimes you just have to take responsibility for your own actions and go about it in a classy way. I felt he didn't do it that way. But no hard feelings. It's part of the game, and I know he didn't hit me on purpose. But what he said, to me, it just wasn't right." ."

John Duffy: "Wow."



Just in case you couldn't tell, Chris Duffy is now my favorite player. I've never before seen a Duffy who came on the the scene so suddenly, earn his wings so fast. Little 25 year old Chris Duffy went up against two-time World Series champion, and eternal Boston Sports Hero, Curt Schilling, and completely blew him out in a way that can be described as, "most respectful." So, you may ask, "well how did Schilling respond to Duffy's response?" Good question. Here's the answer:

Curt Schilling: "I'm not going to elaborate on it, because [the media] won't be able to translate it. I'm not going to elaborate on it, because it's not going to come out right. I can understand how he could take that to be what I didn't want it to be. I'll handle it."

Asked if he would give Duffy a phone call, Schilling quipped: "I already gave him a ring."

Final Result: Duffy 1 / Schilling 0.

Moral of the story: Don't mess with the Duffy's. Now you know.



ONE MORE THING: The name of the hospital they took Chris Duffy to after he got hit is Manatee Memorial Hospital. My question is was the hospital named after manatees because it's in Florida, or was there a specific beloved manatee that died in or around the hospital so that they felt like they had to change the name to honor it after its death?



LITLE KNOWN FACT: In fourth grade I wrote a 15 page paper on manatees.