Curt Schilling’s Red Sox teammate: You’re not welcome to our ceremony anyway

Curt Schilling should be regarded as one of the great legends in Red Sox history. After all, his performance in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees in 2004 — the bloody sock game — was one of the most memorable ever. Boston would’ve been wise to stuff that sock in his mouth to save him from talking his way out of Red Sox lore.

When Boston celebrates the 2004 World Series in Tuesday’s home opener, Schilling won’t be there. He’s choosing to skip the event after falling out of favor with the organization after revealing, against their wishes, that Tim Wakefield and his wife Stacy were battling cancer.

BUY MLB TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETMASTER

“I wasn’t asked about it, but I just feel that (his absence) is the consensus (choice among teammates),” Schilling’s former teammate Derek Lowe said Monday, via Sean McAdam of MassLive. “This isn’t the venue to have maybe somebody say something to him (about ignoring Wakefield’s wishes), which I think probably someone would have, especially in the evening — if you know what I mean.

“But we weren’t asked (our opinion). There was no questionnaire, or, ‘What do you think?’ I just think it was the right thing to do. This is probably the best scenario for everybody. Somebody, later in the evening, would have said something to him. And I’m not saying it would have been me. It just wasn’t the place for it.”

Schilling and Wakefield were teammates when the Red Sox broke the Yankees’ curse in 2004. They also notched a World Series in 2007. In that time, they developed a friendship and stayed in touch.

Schilling, who made his sports media return in 2023, revealed that he wasn’t sure if Wakefield wanted this news to come out, but decided to come forward with it because he believes in the power of prayer. He also felt a sense of guilt.

After making the Wakefields’s battle with cancer public, several of Schilling’s former teammates lambasted the pitcher for doing so. Red Sox legend Jason Varitek’s wife, Catherine, took to social media to air her displeasure. She posted on X/Twitter:

“F--- you Curt Schilling, that wasn’t your place!”

Lowe echoed these sentiments at a Monday luncheon honoring the 2004 World Series championship team to benefit the Foundation to Be Named Later, according to Mass Live.

“[It was] bulls–t, what he did,” Lowe angrily said. “I knew a lot. Golfed with [Wakefield], knew the whole story. And understanding what they wanted out as a family, and you do that? It’s just bulls–t. Again, [Schilling not attending], is the right thing.”

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Manny Gómez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.