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| Remembering the ‘Bloody Sock’ Game, Five Years Later | 10.20.09 at 11:45 am ET |
Editor’s Note: On Oct. 19, 2004, Curt Schilling delivered one of the most memorable performances of his career. He allowed one run in seven innings in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees after having a dislocated tendon in his right ankle sutured into place. The Red Sox’ 4-2 win positioned the team for a winner-take-all Game 7 in Yankee Stadium. The Sox won that game, completing an unprecedented comeback from a 3-0 series deficit en route to the franchise’s first World Series title in 86 years. Here, Schilling offers his recollections of his Game 6 performance, five years later.
I knew I was going to start, but had no idea how I was going to pitch. The ankle, after having been sutured the night before, was holding up a lot better than we’d thought. I was surprised at the amount of bleeding that occurred overnight, and I am sure the maids were a bit worried when they changed my sheets that morning.
I didn’t do anything really abnormal in the day leading up to the start. I did a few more windups in my hotel room than normal, to try and push it a bit to make sure it wasn’t going to pop.
The thing I most vividly remember from the hours leading up to the start was hitting the top step in Yankee Stadium. When I went out to pitch Game 1, when I hit the top step to walk to the bullpen, my ankle buckled and the tendon popped out of place. That was the first time I knew I might have a problem.
It was about the 50th time I had faced the Yankees that year, and I knew it would be the last, so I came out of my bullpen having done some things different. Whereas I usually made sure I had fastball command and my split, I worked my ass off in that pen to get a feel for my curveball and slider right off the bat since I wanted to use them for all nine innings, instead of here and there.
In Game 6, there was no specific moment when I knew that I would make it through the game. After pitch one, I never really thought much on it. It held up I think because I never favored it, or at least never felt like I did. In watching some highlights I do notice I limped, but I never thought I was limping.
I only realized the ankle was bleeding for one reason. I received multiple Marcaine injections from April on, each start, and as the season wore on I started needing to get in-game injections as well. This game I needed to have it done again, and the Marcaine made the outer half of my foot numb (which was a whole other problem).
In doing so it made me feel as though my shoe wasn’t on right, so I kept pressing down on the bottom of my shoe to move my foot side to side to try and “feel” as if my foot was firmly in my shoe. That’s how I noticed, in about the fifth or sixth inning, that the sole of my shoe and my sock were soaked with blood. You ever walk in the rain in your socks? That’s how it felt. Problem was that it was cold out, too, so that made the blood cold and I could feel it on half my foot.
In looking back on it, the main thing I take away from that game was my mental ability to overcome anything. I got past the ankle pain and into a state of mind that had me completely focused on the game.
I probably did more damage to the ankle than I would have liked. When they opened my ankle up after the season they told me that my peroneal tendon, in addition to being dislocated, was split, lengthwise, for about five inches and wedged over the ankle bone. In a way that was a good thing because it sort of locked itself down.
I made it through seven innings, and when I was done, I sat on the bench. I’ve often talked about the spiritual experience that entire two-week period was, and after I came out of this game it really hit me hard.
I had prayed hard, never once to “win” but just to be able to compete. I couldn’t do that in Game 1 because in a spiritual and physical sense I had tried to “go it alone.” Before Game 2 I had prayed with Mike Timlin and Tim Wakefield, and I prayed ONLY for the ability to compete. I prayed for that with the belief that with the eight guys playing behind me, and my ability to pitch, I could beat them on one foot if I could just compete.
Looking back on it five years later, it was a much more meaningful event from a faith and spiritual standpoint than from a performance standpoint. I am proud of what we did that night, but I am far more excited about what I was able to experience in my relationship with Christ that night. I knew, postgame, when I started the press conference off by thanking the Lord and the entire media contingent rolled its eyes, how they were going to report it. Whatever they did, I knew they couldn’t come close to conveying what I had experienced.
My lasting memory of that game — more than anything that happened while I was on the mound — is of Keith Foulke. Every memory I have of that postseason has Keith in it. He pitched every stinking game and dominated, on fumes.
54 Comments for “Remembering the ‘Bloody Sock’ Game, Five Years Later”
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Josh Beckett's K Total: 172
Josh Beckett's Win Total: 12
$$ Raised for the Boston ALS Chapter: $29200
Daisuke Matsuzaka's K Total: 149
Daisuke Matsuzaka's Win Total: 18
$$ Raised for the Japan ALS Chapter: $32900
Brandon Webb's K Total: 176
Brandon Webb's Win Total: 22
$$ Raised for the Arizona ALS Chapter: $39600
Cole Hamel's K Total: 196
Cole Hamel's Win Total: 14
$$ Raised for the Philadelphia ALS Chapter: $33600
TOTAL $$ RAISED FOR ALS: $135300
October 20th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
… I’ll play along, Curt. What an amazing hero!!!!!!
October 20th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
That game is still one of my greatest birthday gifts of all time.
thanks curt.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Shilling never actually says if he used Heinz or Hunts ketchup on the sock.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
One of my favorite baseball fan memories ever. I was in junior year of college, spending the semester in Vietnam. A few of us were waking up every game day to go find a hotel bar with ESPN at like 7:30 AM.
Watching that entire comeback unfold was magical, and your gutsy performance in game 6 perfectly personified the Red Sox for so many of us. Thanks for the memories Curt.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Thanks for the memories Curt. Remember this game like it was yesterday. Hope all is well! Miss you on the mound every fifth day. Cheers
October 20th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Thanks again, Curt!
My father, brother and I watched that game, and game 7 together, and the victories played a part in healing a rift that had grown between us. After the last out, we celebrated like old friends, and it was magical.
All the best,
Eric
October 20th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Ah…watching the Yankees vs Angels ALCS game tonight…so, thanks for those wonderful memories. We were fortunate enough to attend Game 2 of the WS at Fenway(Bloody Sock 2.0). I didn’t even bring a camera because I didn’t want to be distracted.
One thing that has stuck in my mind since that magical post-season, and I’m not a religious person by any stretch of the word, was your statement at the time: that you didn’t pray to God to win, you prayed to God for the strength to get through.
We see religion invoked in so many ways that just aren’t right – your statement sticks with me to this day, of what prayer and religion should be about.
October 20th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Yikes. Big fan of yourself huh? It’s best to let others sing your praises brother.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Interesting.
What did Christ tell you about cashing checks for services not rendered?
What season was that? Haha. Blowhard.
And dont start yelling Redlight. Christ wouldnt approve.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Hey PRpatsFAN –
He’s telling you what HE experienced. Should he speak on what Wake, or Millar or Damon were all doing and feeling?? People like you are moronic. The guy gave up a year of his career (2005) so the fans of Red Sox nation could experience their first W.S. title. Grow up and stop acting like a child.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
PRpatsFAN and Fine……you two are douchebags!
October 21st, 2009 at 12:08 am
Dude, nobody cares. You’re old news and you weren’t very likable when you were new news. Go away.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:12 am
Screw all the idiots Curt.
It was a PLEASURE to see you make this statement a reality.
[Quote Curt Schilling]
I’m not sure I can think of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from New York shut up.
[/quote]
October 21st, 2009 at 1:03 am
Thanks, Curt.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:19 am
Stop living in the past!!!! AHAHAHAHA oh how the tides have turned. Enjoy your bragging rights for about 10 more days because once we win our 27th, it’s back to being number TWO for you guys. BTW Curt, how did that prediction on Joe Buck’s show about the Sox winning it all this year turn out for you?
October 21st, 2009 at 3:47 am
Like school on Sunday
October 21st, 2009 at 3:48 am
lol at “miss you on the mound every fifth day”
you pitched there a couple years
you were way way way way better in Arizona
October 21st, 2009 at 6:06 am
Hey bigmouth Shill, how’s your prediction of ARod going down your big mouth now. I guess, no one has found that down and away hole your found. I guess no one was listening to you that day. By the wait can you predict for me how many games it will take for the Red Sux to beat the Yankees in the 2009 ALCS?
October 21st, 2009 at 6:31 am
Enjoyed this article. Not nearly as much as that game. It has to be in the top 10 of all time MLB performances! Red Sox nation misses Curt Schilling! Good luck Curt.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:47 am
Thank you.
It’s amazing what people can find the strength to do.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:52 am
It’s nice to see a guy not praise himself but give the credit where it is due. We have a WONDERFUL GOD who LOVES us to an incredible degree. Often times we see athletes take credit themselves when it was actually GOD who gave them the ability to compete in the first place. Again, very refreshing to see GOD given the glory and not man. Kudos to you Curt
October 21st, 2009 at 8:01 am
curt, thank you for the wonderful years and terrific games you gave us. we watched every game the red sox played. we still do, but sure miss you and were wishing you were on the mound again, so many times this year. during that bloody sock game, i knew the only way you were getting through, was with the lord’s help. thanks again for all the wonderful memories and for being a man who doesn’t give up and is proud of the work you have done. god bless, di b
October 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am
Dear world,
my baseball career is over, my political career is stalled (despite me being tremendously qualified of course)
Would anyone like to read a long monologue about how great i am???
Site traffic dying down these days? Better go insult an epileptic or call out A-rod (hey – thanks for that by the way)
But in that monologue you did forgot to mention: “i kept thinking in the back of my mind holy S— i hope they dont bunt, i hope they dont bunt…”
The only part of you that was blessed that night was that the yankees had someone managing them almost as dumb as girardi…
October 21st, 2009 at 10:03 am
Ummm Curt, who asked? Who cares? Heinz 57 on the sock and Papi and Manny loaded on roids. Nice memories. Curt you might be the most pathetic ex-player out there.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:08 am
hey curt i am so glad you are such a huge fan of yourself.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:14 am
It was such a thrill to witness that game and great to read about YOUR memories of it. But I’m struck by what you said at the end. Every great moment of that season and post-season ended the same way – with Keith Foulke on the mound. I don’t know how he did it. It was a season for the ages and every member of that team, every single one, should be treated as Boston heroes for what they accomplished.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:16 am
Yo Curt dude, please stop using my name. I don’t want to have to get my lawyers on you and you know I’ve got a bunch up here.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:31 am
Curt Schilling on what a great hero Curt Schilling is as he sings the praises of Curt Schilling and memorialized Curt Schilling’s great moments, all on Curt Schilling’s site, by Curt Schilling.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:35 am
get over yourself….we all have….
Praise jesus….
October 21st, 2009 at 10:44 am
I’m just so pleased that Curt Schilling has a forum for his opinions. Really, it seems like Curt really holds back promoting himself and his ideas and I think it is terrific that now we have a direct avenue to a man who is obviously so humble that it must have taken a lot of persuasion to get him to write this.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:18 am
Search Curt Schillings house, garunteed somewhere in there you find a receipt from Halloween Adventure for costume blood capsules dated October 18, 2004. I know, I know..he probably threw the receipt out, not this guy…he’s that cocky. By the way, Theres no such thing as Red Sox nation…
October 21st, 2009 at 11:29 am
Hold onto whatever you can BoSox fans….things are back to the way they should be in the AL East, thank God!
October 21st, 2009 at 11:30 am
the sock was a fake you moron
how come the blood didn’t spread throughout the game?!
that red sharpie you used should be in the HOF
October 21st, 2009 at 11:52 am
Interesting…I was sacrificing all manner of animals in Satan’s name that night. I’m pretty sure you owe that win to me and the Lord of Darkness. Also, rice.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Hey before you haters go get ah new haih cut. It’s fact that this man had surgery on his ankle just in hopes to be able to pitch.I don’t know about you but I’m not exactly feeling 100% a day after surgery. Name one player that would even think about going through that and not just mailing it in calling it a season. I feel sorry that you nevr have and will never get to experience what we experienced in 2004.Curt thank you for the memories that you have given us.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:00 pm
You are still a loser who will hopefully learn the hard way that nobody likes you and we all wish you die.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Curt,
A lot of stupid replies here. You delivered one of the gutsiest athletic performances of all time. Thanks!
October 21st, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Dude. Really. Enough with the Christ crap. I’m sure he would be so concerned with what some guy wants who was making millions of dollars for doing what little kids do for fun.
“Can I just win this game Jesus?”
“Ahhh..hold on. I have some more pressing issues”
October 21st, 2009 at 2:24 pm
The problem with the internet is that any ol’ %^$@%@#$% can post his or her comment/opinion on a subject, and most do it, unfortunately, while attempting to prove their comedic chops, or rather lack there-of.
The silliness of Schill’s Christ comments aside, there is no one – no matter how they feel about the guy’s personality – that can minimize the greatness of that performance. And to suggest that the blood on his sock was fake or some sort of stunt, shows a complete lack of understanding on how an injury like that behaves under stress.
Any Red Sox fan who takes shots at Schilling is no Red Sox fan at all. So go find another team if that’s the case. Your not wanted. We’ll promote a pink hat to full fan status, because even a pink hat has more credibility than a supposed Sox fan that belittles Schill’s effort in Game 6 of that 2004 ALCS.
Schilling has earned the right to write as much as he likes about that moment and that season, no matter how silly some of it comes off.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:34 pm
So in one sentence he couldn’t feel his foot because of an injection. In the next he says his foot felt like walking in the rain in your socks.
Which was it Curt? Can’t remember your own story anymore?
October 21st, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Nice to read about an event that lives in the hearts of all Red Sox fans.
No matter your opinion of Schilling, can’t we enjoy the memories of 2004.
Personally, I love all that the players on that team did – THANKS for the MEMORIES
and GO RED SOX
October 21st, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Thanks for the memories, Curt, and for all you did.
I think it was in the second inning of that game when I knew you guys weren’t going to lose again.
And thanks for acknowledging what Foulke did. He’s the one player I’d like to meet and say “Thanks” to in person. 9th inning, one out, one on, pacing like a madwoman … and I was actually able to sit down and watch because it was Keith on the mound. But man, it was an eternity before he actually tossed that ball to first!
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 am
God there’s a lot of $#$#@$ who comment here. If you guys don’t want to read Curt Schilling’s opinions, his memories, or anything else he damn well chooses to write about, then why come to the website?
That game has always blown my mind, and I’ve always admired the mental toughness behind it. Faith is as good an explanation as any, I’m just happy to have been able to watch such a performance.
At some point, Curt, would you mind giving us your thoughts on the upcoming world series? What do you think of Hamels’ struggles this year?
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:07 am
You will always be at the forefront of a Sox fan’s mind when it comes to that season. No more words are needed. Thank God you were with us that season!!!
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 am
The first and only time I every thought there might actually be a curse was when Curt got beat up in Game 1. I thought “No way. This guy is a certified Yankee killer and post season stud – this cant really be happening. Can it?”
Even if he had two healthy ankles this pitching performance is still on par with Papi’s walk offs, and Keith Foulke’s brilliant, dominant tournament.
Game 6 goes down as one of the top moments in Red Sox history – it’s the worst moment in Yankee history. As pathetic, ignorant, and spoiled as Yankee fans are – Curt is and always will be their Cryptonite.
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Love the player, can’t stand when he opens his mouth sometimes. I’m sure his praying did the trick, as nobody from the other side was apparently making a futile attempt to appease the gods. puleeze.
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Haters: There’s a little red ‘X’ up in the corner of your screen. Use it.
Curt: That game is still as amazing to me today as it was five years ago. Thanks for all you did for the Sox, and God Bless. We fans miss you!
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Hey morons, if you were in his shoes (bloody or not) you would do the same thing. Curt deserves sharing with us the steps he had to take during those two weeks and I appreciate his comments. I mainly appreciate that he puts our Lord first ahead of everything else as without him he is nothing. I applaud you Curt and I applaud Wake and Timlin for always putting what is most important first and the rest ALWAYS falls right into place. That was a special time in Sox and baseball history and if there are jealous fans who don’t get it, that’s their problem. Keep sharing special moments like this one and keep up the good work both spiritually and otherwise.
God Bless!
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
To me…once we got past the Yankees, I had a strong feeling The Curse was finally over.
But to be honest, with 2 outs in the 9th in game 4, I was still feeling some dread that SOMETHING was going to happen and that the Curse was going to rear it’s ugly head.
When Fuulke threw to Mientkiewicz to get Renteria at 1st…I just felt all my emotions coming out. I was just sitting there crying tears of joy.
October 27th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Curt,
It is ridiculous that some people want to discredit you for your performance in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS. These people obviously never played professional sports. They obviously never had to pitch in Yankee Stadium in front of 60,000 hostile fans who are calling you every name under the sun. These are people who call in sick to work because they have a headache yet you pitched and pitched effectively in Game 6. What really gets the goat of some Yankees fans is that you dominated that game and they couldn’t close the deal. Their team was up 3-0 and they couldn’t get it done.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Was that paint from Home Depot, or From Lowes?
November 7th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Mr. Schilling, Your dedication to completing that series in 2004 was a gift to Red Sox fans; while your witness to your faith and confidence in God is a gift to every person, at any time. Thank you!
November 9th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
If it wasnt for the rainout the previous day and extra rest for CS, Red Sox go another 86 years of being losers
November 18th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
hey curt – you suck!