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Former Phillie Curt Schilling diagnosed with cancer

Former Phillies pitcher and current ESPN baseball analyst Curt Schilling announced Wednesday that he has cancer.

Former Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling. (AP)
Former Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling. (AP)Read more

Curt Schilling, former Phillies pitcher and current ESPN baseball analyst, announced Wednesday that he has cancer.

Schilling released the following statement, via ESPN:

"I've always believed life is about embracing the gifts and rising up to meet the challenges. We've been presented with another challenge, as I've recently been diagnosed with cancer. 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. 

"My father left me with a saying that I've carried my entire life and tried to pass on to our kids: 'Tough times don't last, tough people do.' Over the years in Boston, the kids at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown us what that means. With my incredibly talented medical team I'm ready to try and win another big game. I've been so very blessed and I feel grateful for what God has allowed my family to have and experience, and I'll embrace this fight just like the rest of them, with resolute faith and head on."

- Thank you,
The Schillings

ESPN also released a statement:

"Our thoughts are with Curt and his family during this challenging time. His ESPN teammates wish him continued strength in his cancer fight and we look forward to welcoming him back to our baseball coverage whenever he's ready."

Schilling, 47, spent 20 seasons in the majors, nine with the Phillies. In his career, the six-time All-Star went 216-146 with a 3.46 ERA and 3,116 strikeouts.

Last summer, it was revealed that Schilling's teammate Darren Daulton had two brain tumors removed.

Both were on hand for Alumni Weekend in August, however, as Schilling was enshrined in the Phillies Wall of Fame.

With the Phillies, Schilling was a part of the 1993 National League Championship team, and was selected to three All Star Games. He struck out 1,554 batters in his nine seasons at Veterans Stadium, and topped 300 strikeouts in a single season twice.

Schilling only reached the postseason once with the Phillies (1993), and was traded to the Diamondbacks on July 26, 2000 for Travis Lee, Vincente Padilla, Omar Daal, and Nelson Figueroa. After two and a half seasons in Arizona, which included the righty's first of three World Series titles in 2001 and a pair of second-place Cy Young finishes, he was traded to the Red Sox after the 2003 season.

Schilling landed on his feet in Boston, and after a disastrous start in Game 1 of the 2004 ALCS, he bounced back with a memorable, yet bloody, performance in Game 6, propelling the Sox to their first World Series title 1918.

In 2007, he won a third World Series title, his second with Boston, and after a bout with shoulder injuries that caused him to miss the entire 2008 season, Schilling officially retired in March of 2009.

Because he last pitched in 2007, Schilling was eligible to receive Hall of Fame votes beginning in 2012, but he failed to receive the necessary 75 percent to be inducted. In his first year of eligibility, Schilling received just 38.8 percent and saw that number dip to 29.2 percent this year.

Recently, Schilling was in the news when his video game company, 38 Studios, defaulted on a $75 million loan from the state of Rhode Island.