maybe in philly, but not once he got to AZ. even in philly, he went to the ws.
Schilling's case is a rate case case for the regular seasons rather than a counting stats case, and is more advanced stats than pitching triple crown. Yes, he hit 3000 Ks, but otherwise, you have to look at his ERA adjusted for the era he pitched in and you have to look at things like K v. BB.
best K:BB ratio of any pitcher with 3000 Ks. Carlton's ERA was 13% better than league average for his career, while Schilling's was 19%, etc... I still will not say he's better, but I will say you have to look beyond counting and unadjusted rate stats to assess his case.
Of course, the special sauce is his post-season marks that give him a kick towards the HoF beyond the regular season, but his regular season stats establish he was a great pitcher in an era of juiced balls and players.
Schilling benefited from an expanded playoff but you make some good points. He deserves to be in. But not as much as Carlton. 4 Cy Young Awards and finished in the top 4 a couple of other times. Six one hitters. 10 All Star appearances. 254 complete games to 83 for Schilling. It's quite possible his ERA and other stats would have been better pitching less innings like guys do now.
EDIT: If Carlton had not been so stubborn and pitched those last 4 years or so when he clearly didn't have it his career ERA would be much closer to 3.00.
