Is Curt Schilling a Hall of Famer?

Since his retirement blog recently, many sportswriters have voiced their opinion about Schilling's Hall of Fame candidacy.  Naturally, I want to throw out my thoughts.  Here they are:

1.  Honestly, to me, Schilling's career does not pass my "sniff" test.  When I hear his name, my brain does not scream "Hall of Famer."  That does not mean he is not one though.

2.  He had only 216 wins.  So what?  He won nearly 60% of his decisions and was definitely a better pitcher than some of those ahead of him on the all-time wins list.

3.  He struck out 3,116 batters, the 15th highest total of all-time.  For someone who did not quite "get it" right away, that is pretty impressive.

4.  He struck out 8.60 batters and walked 1.96 batters per 9 innings.  His K/BB ratio of 4.38 is the best mark in the modern era.  He had a rare combination of power and control, without which we would not be having this discussion.

5.  He had three second place finishes in the Cy Young voting as well as a fourth place finish, but only had seven seasons with 30 or more starts.  When healthy, he was obviously one of the best pitchers in the game.  At the same time, he was only healthy enough to make 30 starts those seven times.

6.  He won three World Series Championships, one other National League pennant, and NLCS MVP and a World Series MVP.  His postseason record was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA.  I personally do not weight postseason results as much in baseball as I do in other sports, but this is nonetheless the mark of a dominant pitcher.

I used to think Jim Rice was the ultimate borderline case for Hall of Fame consideration.  Schilling may replace him.  However, if I had to vote right now, I would vote "Yes."