The Red Sox invited seven players from the 2004 World Series winning team for a ceremony prior to Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday night. David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Keith Foulke and Alan Embree were all invited to take part in an opening ceremony that included a first pitch.
The band's back together! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/OxCaYFAa0o
— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2018
Among those who didn’t receive an invite was pitcher Curt Schilling, who played a pivotal role in the 2004 team making a historic comeback in the ALCS against the Yankees and the World Series victory that followed. The Red Sox claim that Schilling didn’t receive an invite “out of spite.”
Ceremonial first pitch tonight: 2004 team members David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Keith Foulke, Alan Embree.
No Curt Schilling, who lives locally?
Red Sox exec: "We did not reach out to him, but it is not out of spite.''— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) October 24, 2018
Schilling had a different take and wasn’t too happy about not being invited. He took to Facebook to share his feelings on the entire situation and believes he wasn’t invited on purpose.
What they did, or did not do, tonight was done 100% on purpose and completely expected.
Were my feelings hurt? In one sense, yes, not being able to be on the field with the men who I will always share that 2004 bon with and not being able to once again thank the folks who paid for the tickets and whose lives changed with ours sucks .
But ANYONE that knows me knows that no matter what you think of my beliefs and integrity and my word, anyone that knows me knows how I feel about them. They are, in my opinion, the core of a man.
In the post, Schilling included a link to a podcast where he told the story of how things fell apart with the Red Sox organization.
The way things ended between Schilling and the Red Sox might have something to do with it. His outspoken views since his playing days ended and his political views might have also had something to do with it.