“Turn out the lights the party’s over” …
I used to wait with bated breath for Don Meredith to start singing that on
Monday night football. Normally it was sweet music if the Steelers were
playing.
If I could get him to sing it again I would. This party has officially ended.
After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball
in front of the world’s best fans in so many different places, it is with
zero regrets that I am making my retirement official.
To say I’ve been blessed would be like calling Refrigerator Perry ‘a bit
overweight’. The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able
to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all
of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime.
Four World Series, three World Championships. That there are men with plaques
in Cooperstown who never experienced one, and I was able to be on three teams
over seven years that won it all is another ‘beyond my wildest dreams’ set
of memories I’ll be allowed to take with me.
The game always gave me far more than I ever gave it. All of those things,
every single one of those memories is enveloped with fan sights and sounds
for me. Without the fans they would still be great memories, but none would
be enduring and unforgettable because they infused the energy, rage, passion
and ‘feel’ of all of those times. The game was here long before I was, and
will be here long after I am gone. The only thing I hope I did was never put
in question my love for the game, or my passion to be counted on when it
mattered most. I did everything I could to win every time I was handed the
ball.
I am and always will be more grateful than any of you could ever possibly
know.
I want to offer two special thank you’s.
To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for granting me the ability to step
between the lines for 23 years and compete against the best players in the
world.
To my wife Shonda and my four children, Gehrig, Gabriella, Grant and Garrison
for sacrificing their lives and allowing baseball to be mine while I played.
Without their unquestioned support I would not have been able to do what I
did, or enjoy the life, and I am hopefully going to live long enough to repay
them as much as a Father and Husband can.
Thank you and God Bless,
Curt Schilling
原文出處：
http://38pitches.weei.com/
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