FORT MYERS, Fla. – The announcement of Curt Schilling’s retirement brought into sharp relief the significance of the deal that made the pitcher a Red Sox. A compelling argument can be made that the trade that brought him to Boston from Arizona was the biggest in franchise history since the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
The individuals who collected a pair of World Series rings during Schilling’s four seasons in Boston acknowledge that the deal helped transform franchise history. The pitcher impacted the club on and off the field in ways that proved integral to breaking an 86-year title drought.
“I don’t know,” said catcher Jason Varitek, “if we’re standing where we’re at, having won two world championships, without Curt.”
The payoff was huge. The cost – aside from money – was shockingly minimal. In retrospect, it is absurd to think that the Sox were able to acquire Schilling, a man who served as a crucial contributor to two championships, in exchange for Jorge De La Rosa, Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon and Michael Goss.
That group has yet to produce a single All-Star season. The development isn’t even surprising, since none was viewed by the baseball community at the time of the deal as an elite prospect.
The names of Hanley Ramirez and Jon Lester surfaced during the negotiations. Yet the Red Sox were able to make one of the biggest acquisitions in franchise history while still holding onto their top prospects. How, exactly did it happen?
OUT OF DEVASTATION, AMBITION
For at least a day, life seemed to halt in New England following the brutal loss in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS to the Yankees. Five outs from reaching the World Series, the team endured one of the bitterest defeats in history. Even in the Red Sox’ front office, executives were permitted a 24-hour window of mourning and relative inactivity.
But the defeat on the doorstep of the World Series forged a resolve. Once Grady Little had been dispatched and a search for a new manager set in motion, the Sox wanted to find championship pitching to accompany a history-making offense.
The Sox evaluated the market for impact additions. The absence of a closer in ’03 had been well-documented, and the team was aggressively courting Keith Foulke to fill that role. A starter, someone who could join Pedro Martinez as a rotation pillar, remained on the agenda.
Initially, Schilling, who had one year remaining on his three-year, $32 million deal with the Diamondbacks wasn’t on their radar for a simple reason.
“He wasn’t really available,” explained G.M. Theo Epstein. “But we wanted to get pitching.
“It became clear by the G.M. meetings that he was going to be moved,” he continued. “He wasn’t the target immediately after (Game 7) or anything like that, but once it became clear he was going to be moved, he was an obvious target for anybody.”
Yet just because Schilling was a target, a pursuit seemed almost futile. Not only was there the question of what kind of package the Diamondbacks would demand for one of the top power pitchers of the last half-century, but there was also the issue of what Schilling himself might want – as well as what he didn’t want.
The pitcher, who could control his destiny thanks to a no-trade clause, had gone on record saying that Boston didn’t interest him. With the Diamondbacks in a cost-cutting mode, he had stated publicly a desire to join the Yankees or Phillies. Other clubs intrigued Schilling, but the Sox did not.
“It didn’t necessarily look like Boston was one of the stops where he would be traded,” said Epstein, “but we decided to find out for ourselves.”
ENGAGING THE SNAKES
There was dialogue with the Diamondbacks at the G.M. meetings in mid-November, but Arizona’s initial asking prices seemed so steep as to be considered prohibitive by the Sox. At that time, the Yankees were considered if not a certain destination, then something close to it.
But something happened. New York and Arizona were exchanging proposals. Several reports at the time suggested that New York was balking at Arizona’s demand of second baseman Alfonso Soriano and first baseman Nick Johnson. There was nonetheless an expectation in baseball that Schilling would end up in Pinstripes.
Somewhat to their surprise, however, roughly a week after the G.M. meetings, Sox officials were contacted by the Diamondbacks. Arizona’s decision makers seemed willing, almost eager, to make a deal with the Sox.
The parameters of the deal between the Diamondbacks and Sox were agreed upon quickly, in large part because Boston believed that it could
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