Curt Schilling, the former major league pitcher and current ESPN baseball analyst, announced that he is battling cancer Wednesday.
“I’ve always believed life is about embracing the gifts and rising up to meet the challenges,” Schilling. “We’ve been presented with another challenge, as I’ve recently been diagnosed with cancer.”
Schilling, 47, recently became part of the “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast team for the 2014 season. He is currently a baseball analyst (debuted in April 2010) and recently signed a multi-year extension with ESPN. It has not been disclosed what Schilling plans are in the future.
The big right-handed ace played 20 seasons in the majors, accumulating a 216-146 record and an ERA of 3.46. He has a career 3,116 strikeouts – ranked 15th all time. The six-time All-Star is best known for his contributions to the Boston Red Sox – helping them win the 2004 and 2007 World Series.
He also won the 2001 World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was named the World Series MVP that year.
In 2011, Schilling had a heart attack and later surgery to set up a stent in one of his arteries.
His wife, Shonda Schilling, battled cancer back in 2001 after being diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma.
“Shonda and I want to send a sincere thank you and our appreciation to those who have called and sent prayers, and we ask that if you are so inclined, to keep the Schilling family in your prayers.”