Curt Schilling
Bio

Curtis Montague “Curt” Schilling (born November 14, 1966 in Anchorage, Alaska) is an American Major League Baseball pitcher. A right-handed starting pitcher, he currently plays for the Boston Red Sox. He has won World Series championships in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2004 and 2007 with the Red Sox, and, with a career postseason record of 11-2, he is widely regarded as one of the best postseason pitchers in baseball history.

Schilling started a blog called 38pitches.com in which he answers fan questions, documents his starts and even refutes press coverage about him or the team that he believes is inaccurate. More importently he uses the blog as a way to spread awareness for various charitable foundations.

Interview

<Dropthemike.com> First of all I really like the name you chose for your blog. Was that something you picked out yourself? Were you mulling over any other potentials?

<Curt Schilling> I honestly can’t remember, but I’m pretty sure Steve Danuser or Ryan Shwayder, two senior designers at the studio and blog grognards, came up with it.

<Dropthemike.com> Was this your first taste of running your own website? Apart from posting content, do you take care of any of the other management of the blog?

<Curt Schilling> Yes. I handle pretty much all of it at this point.

<Dropthemike.com> While blogs have become a hugely popular way for anybody and everybody to express themselves online, it seems like user-generated content has not really taken off as quickly with professional athletes or people involved in the sports world. Off the top of my head I know of two only such blogs, one being yours. The other being that of Mark Cuban. What is it about the opportunity to blog that motivated you to jump on the blog bandwagon? Why is it you think we haven’t seen more sports figures get involved?
<Curt Schilling> The most interesting and appealing piece to me was the unfiltered content. No more “taken out of context” or “misquoting,” or having people’s opinions of you shaped by media members with personal issues and biases. I can’t complain about people calling me out or saying things about me as it pertains to the blog because those are my words, for better or worse.

In my opinion, the biggest reason more professional athletes don’t blog is that it takes a lot of time and effort in a life that’s already stretched pretty thin time wise. If you care at all about what you’re saying or posting, there is effort needed to keep your blog relevant.

<Dropthemike.com> Your blog has no doubt gained popularity for being in your image. Meaning not afraid to express your opinions on current events. There is no doubt to the reader, this is Curt Schilling. How empowering is that for you to not only have that added medium to communicate but to also be in control of what the readers read? You’ve cut out the middleman and eliminated any chance of taking comments out of context.

<Curt Schilling> It’s good and bad. Being someone who has engaged his mouth before his brain many times, the immediacy of the blog and its reach can be a bad thing. Being as emotional and reactive as I can be is not always a good thing. While it’s me–and one of those things that makes me human–it does not and will not make me right. But as I have stated many times before, there aren’t any layers to me: I am about as transparent as a person can be. There is usually no problem determining what I think and who and what I believe in.

<Dropthemike.com> So is Curt Schilling a self appointed technology buff? I mean you have a blog, you’re known to be a gamer, you have plans on working on a game through your 38 Studios company. Are you the club house geek? When did you really start getting involved with technology?

<Curt Schilling> Yes, yes, and 20 years ago. It all started when my best friend’s dad brought home the first Apple computer I had ever seen, and my “geekiness” has grown by leaps and bounds since then. I feel very strongly that technology absolutely gave me a huge advantage in the mid- to late 90s, before it caught on with mainstream sports. I was traveling with a laptop and applications on that laptop that allowed me to be more prepared and to do what I do for a living better.

<Dropthemike.com> What tech toys does Curt Schilling own? Whats your favourite tech toy of the moment?

<Curt Shilling> I would argue it’s easier to name what I don’t own. Far and away my current favorite is the Iphone. Apple hit another home run. I’m constantly amazed at how far they continually outdistance their competition in fields that are “older” and “saturated.” The cell phone industry is old by current tech standards; to shatter that market the way they did was awesome.

<Dropthemike.com> If you had never been involved in professional sports, do you think you would have ended up involved in the technology world in some capacity? Do you have plans to be even more involved after Baseball?

<Curt Schilling> I’m not sure, never really thought about that. I always felt I’d have gone into the military if the Lord hadn’t blessed me with the physical gifts he did.

I’m already fully immersed in the tech world. 38 Studios is the starting line for what is shaping up to be a marathon that will hopefully end with us a worldwide leader in online entertainment.

<Dropthemike.com> What sort of traffic does 38pitches.com receive daily? Monthly? What was your reaction as readership began to grow?

<Curt Schilling> 38Pitches is at about seven million views in just under a year. I had no idea what the audience size would become, but at the moment we’re looking to team up with some potential strategic partners to help the blog grow.

<Dropthemike.com> A common question asked by new bloggers is how often should I post? Do you make an attempt to keep to a set amount of posts? Do you notice large variation in your traffic when you post often as opposed to slow periods where posts do not come as easily?

<Curt Schilling> I try to keep it fresh and, more importantly, not post just to put up new text. I want people to find the blog interesting. Yes, there is variation in traffic. Volume spikes anytime I mention my political opinions, but it goes through the roof when I post something that is worthy of pick-up by ESPN or some other media outlet.

<Dropthemike.com> Outside of your own blog, do you actively follow any other blogs out there? Any favourites you’d like to share?

<Curt Schilling> The only guy I adamantly read is Bill Simmons. I think he’s a fantastic writer. The Sox bias makes reading his stuff entertaining, same with Peter Gammons. I am amazed at the way some “famous” people who blog think they are much more relevant than others. I started blogging because it seemed like a natural thing for me to do. I never thought, nor do I now, that I was entitled to have a larger voice, or that my opinion matters more than Joe Smith with four kids and two jobs. I’m amazed at the venomous lengths to which people who clearly don’t like me go to post on my site.

<Dropthemike.com> Your game studio, are they actively working on your first release? What can you tell us about that?

<Curt Schilling> Not much. We are creating the premiere OEE™ (Online Entertainment Experience, a term we’ve trademarked). We are working toward so much more than a game, and the vision is staggering. It’s an original IP created by New York Times best-selling author and friend R. A. Salvatore. Pop-culture icon Todd McFarlane, also a good friend, is helping to drive the artistic vision. Our goal is no less than a multi-billion dollar, multi-generational IP, backed up with an industry-savvy team of accomplished people including president and CEO Brett Close and CTO Jon Laff. These people are achievers. They’re smart, and they get things done, which in the end, is what matters.

<Dropthemike.com> With your gaming venture you have managed to align yourself with some impressive creative minds. I am a long time fan and admirer of my fellow Canadian Todd Macfarlane. How did that relationship come about? I know he is a big baseball fan and lives out in Arizona, is that how and where you met?

<Curt Schilling> Yes. We did some philanthropical things together for ALS while I was in Arizona. He’s a fantastic friend and entrepreneur, as well as an artistic genius.

<Dropthemike.com> Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, or PC? What is your preference, which do you game on currently?

<Curt Schilling> I’m a PC guy. My kids are all over the place, but right now it’s all about the 360. They’ve got everything from Battle for Middle Earth to Rock Band going on.

<Dropthemike.com> What games is Curt Schilling really digging at the moment? What’s coming that you are really looking forward to?

<Curt Schilling> Games off the beaten path. Playing a lot of Legends of Norrath, SOE’s Online card game, WoW (of course), Company Of Heroes Opposing Fronts, as well as some other stuff.

I hope my readers and fans of Curt Schilling enjoyed this glimpse into another, lesser known side of Curt Schilling. If you have any questions that you think I missed, let me know. Or post them in the comments here. I will see if I can get them answered for you.