Even Pro Athletes Can Be Power Gamers

jht writes "Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is known primarily as one of the best power pitchers in the game of baseball. He has a different side, though, as a huge RPG fan, of both board and online games. Curt is even the owner of a company called Multi-Man Publishing that publishes material for Avalon Hill wargames. But Curt is possibly best known in the gaming world for his avowed EverQuest addiction. ESPN Gamer recently published an interview with Schilling about his MMORPG habits and platform choices - an interesting read."

Just as long as he's not a PK'er...

I'd make a joke about how he swings his magic wand off and on the field, but he's a pitcher.

(Note for those of you who don't follow baseball/are humor-impaired/aren't from the U.S.: the Boston Red Sox are an American League team, and thus the pitcher does not bat. Contrast this to a National League team like the Pittsburgh Pirates, where the pitcher does bat.)

Re:Just as long as he's not a PK'er...

But Schilling used to 'swing his magic wand' when he played for the Diamondbacks (an NL team).....

Re:Just as long as he's not a PK'er...

What do they do in the World series?

They play by the home team's rules. If playing in an AL park, pitchers don't bat. NL park, pitchers bat.

Switching gears, Jayson Stark wrote a short bit in a column [go.com] on Schilling's EQ habit a few years ago.

He's Pretty Tech Savy

I know he also has a weblog. I can't remember the URL, but maybe someone else could help me out here.

Not that Shocking

More non-dork celebrities are gamers than the mainstream media lets on. In an environment such as a Massively Multiplayer game the average person is given the opportunity to be other than they are, to live into a fantasy. For those peopel who may be seen as "living the fantasy", I believe a MMOG would do just the opposite. Inside EQ, a baseball player or movie star is just another hafling or troll. Anonymity can work both ways. Now, if more folks started coming out of the Pen and Paper closet I'd be amused. (I'm looking at you, Vin Diesel.)

Re:Not that Shocking

true. Everquest addiction is not that shocking. The cool/bizarre part of the story is his co-ownership of the tabletop wargaming company. Here's a guy making millions on baseball and in the off season he's researching and writing WW2 campaigns? would be nice to have a job with enough downtime to give serious fruit to your hobbies...

The Calagry Flames are Age of Kings players

Just recently we had a bunch of guys from the Calgary Flames (pro Hockey team) come by our offices (Ensemble Studios, makers of Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, etc) and visit while they were in town to play the Dallas Stars. There is a write up on our web site at http://www.ensemblestudios.com/

It seems that a bunch of these guys are serious Conquerors (Age of Kings expansion) players, to the point where they've gone out and bought new laptops and carry on a portable network switch onto their flights and have major LAN game battles when flying from city to city between hockey games.

When they came over we gave them the red carpet treatment and showed them around our offices. Yet they were far more like awe-struck fan boys than pro athletes who are used to people approaching them as fans. A couple of the guys were so looking forward to the visit they said they were glad they weren't traded before visting Dallas... and I don't think they were joking.

Anyway, after showing them around we set up some team games for them to take on a few of our best players. (full story on our site). They had a blast, and we had a blast.

Considering that most pro athletes are males ages 22 to 36, which makes them part of the generation that grew up with Nintendo, etc, and have persued a life a professional cometitive gaming, its not surprising to find a bunch of them are passionate about computer and video games.

-Mp

Video games? Aww, you lovable rascal you!

Holy shit, that was the most patronizing interview I've ever read in my life. It's like the interviewer thought he was talking to an eight-year-old. You can just see him reaching over and mussing the poor guy's hair. Do journalists really call pro baseball players "slugger" and "champ" to their faces?

If this is a shining example of the media holding up gaming as a reasonable and normal pastime...

I mean, "fiddling with joysticks." God. You don't see interviews like, "I hear you like to play poker with your friends. How long have you been 'shuffling' 'decks of cards', slugger?" Or, "We figure a tough guy like you always picks the thimble when he plays Monopoly, eh, champ?"

He also wrote a review on an expansion as well...

...for one of the print mags (think it was PC Gamer - but it might have been CGW).

Was about as good as most professional game reviews I've seen in any of the print mags (insert sarcastic comment here). One thing you could definitely tell reading the review was that he was pretty serious about the game...

It's not the fame...

His opinions don't matter more because he's famous, they matter more because he doesn't play sport games. Therefore he has some sense, therefore listening to him might not be such a bad idea after all. :)

Re:Slow news day on slashdot

While the author's point of the story itself might be that yes he is a famous sports star and therefore lets listen to the pearls of wisdom that drop from his mouth, I disagree that it is wholely out of place on slashdot.

What I think the story conveys is a message that RPGs appeal to a wider audience that is more mainstream than the greasy haired social reject that is so frequently portrayed as a D&D player.

What's wrong with Flying Saucers?

Re:Pro Athlete?

Not defending baseball, as I find it boring, also (especially after playing it from ages 6-13). But do you know what kind of stress a MLB pitcher puts on themselves to pitch? I'd like to see you try to put a ball ~90mph over a foot-wide area a few hundred times a day (they also pitch when they're not playing to stay good).