The ‘93 Fightins were the weirdest and most intense bunch of ballplayers this city has ever seen. That World Series team is revered in a way most losing teams never would be in other towns, as the combination of their blue-collar work ethic, out-of-nowhere success for just that one year (and downright batshit-craziness) has endeared that squad to this city forever.
Yes, this is about Curt Schilling.
Many fans remember the 2-0 shutout in the ’93 World Series as one of the best games in Phillies history. If not for Jim Fregosi’s goddamn loyalty to Mitch Williams (more on him in a minute) the Phillies might have won Game 6 of that series. Who knows what could have happened in a Game 7? Alas, in the annals of great Philly sports moments, Schilling’s Game 5 gem at the Vet gets somewhat overlooked. But as a kid, sitting down the first base line with my dad, that night was magical.
Schilling had many magical moments in his playing career, particularly in the playoffs, but ever since he hung up his bloody sock for a microphone, his professional career has been anything but.
Schilling was fired by ESPN on Wednesday in direct response to the latest bout of hate speech he insisted on constantly sharing on Twitter and Facebook, months after his bosses specifically asked him not to. Schilling doesn’t care what you or I think (he surely doesn’t care what I think) and, clearly leading to his ouster at the sportscasting giant, he made it clear he didn’t care what his bosses thought either.
Odd as it sounds, though, Schilling may not be the most batshit guy from that ‘93 team. Most of the biggest stars from that year seem to have an attic full of guano these days.
Mitch Williams hasn’t worked in baseball for two years after being fired by MLB Network in the wake of an incident at one of his son’s baseball games in 2014. From CSNPhilly.com:
It’s been almost two years since Williams — who was coaching one of his sons in a 10-and-under Ripken Baseball tournament in Maryland — was ejected from a game for allegedly cursing an umpire in front of children. Pictures surfaced of Williams nose-to-nose with the umpire in what appeared to be a heated exchange. The next day, Williams was accused by coaches and parents of an opposing team of calling a child a lewd term and ordering one of his pitchers to intentionally hit a batter, according to Deadspin.
Williams is suing both Major League Baseball for firing him and Gawker Media for their report that led to his ouster,a report he claims was erroneous. The suit, filed in 2014, will be heard this year. Last year, Williams got into a… shall we say… difference of opinion with former teammate Lenny Dykstra (more on him in a separate minute) at a local Philly sports function.
Surely Williams isn’t crazy, and he may not have even been wrong with his actions at that youth tournament, especially if you believe Rich Rys’ well-sourced report at Philly Mag last year. But trouble has seemed to follow Williams in his post Wild Thing career. In 2008, Williams cursed out a referee at his daughter’s basketball game in an incident that was reportedly so bad the referees refused to work any games he went to.
Williams has been, as he put it to CSN Philly, blackballed by the industry. It remains to be seen if the same thing happens to Schilling.
Darren Daulton hasn’t been blackballed—certainly not in Philly—as the beloved backstop has long been in the hearts and minds of Phillies faithful as he endured, and won, a two-year fight with cancer.
Daulton, like Williams and Schilling, has also dabbled in media, as Dutch became something of a mainstay on radio and TV before his diagnosis.
Nearly a decade ago, though, Daulton was viewed somewhat differently. Or, at least, his views were somewhat different. His 2007 book, If They Only Knew, talks about, well…some pretty out-there stuff.
“If They Only Knew” is about the interesting world of the metaphysical and the author’s beliefs and personal experiences with it. Daulton delves into issues of ascension, such as dimensions and levels of consciousness, the Mayan Calendar and December 21, 2012, creating one’s own reality and a lot more. The book’s message is clear – Open your mind to new ideas and know that there is more to our life than only what we can see, feel and touch!
If we’re talking crazy, and we’re talking about the ‘93 Phillies, all roads should probably begin and end with Nails.
Lenny Dykstra has lived a full life, to put it kindly, since retiring from baseball. A very full life. (Just click the links. Or, actually, maybe don’t.)
Surely there are more stories from that 1993 team—who would have guessed John Kruk may be the most normal one of the bunch—but the big stars on that team have surely stayed in the spotlight, for one crazy reason or another.
Schilling being fired by ESPN was an inevitability, with some industry insiders suggesting maybe he was trying to get fired. Imagine that…social media may soon be getting an actually unfiltered Schilling. We better clean out the attic now, before things get really toxic.
