From bloody sock to bum shoulder, Curt Schilling rarely left the Boston Red Sox spotlight.

On the field, the husky right-hander pitched through pain to help end the club's 86-year championship drought in 2004 — then contributed to another World Series title three years later.

Off the field, the opinionated observer appeared at a congressional hearing on steroids use and campaigned for former President George W. Bush.

From a Thanksgiving dinner in 2003 at his Arizona home where Boston general manager Theo Epstein lured him back to the team that drafted him in 1986 to his retirement yesterday, Schilling made his mark in a city of demanding fans.

"I think in the end, we really didn't need to sell it," Epstein said yesterday. "The Red Sox were perfect for him, because he likes the big stage, the history of the game. He likes to be the center of attention. It was a good fit."

Schilling enriched that history throughout a career that began with Baltimore in 1988 when he retired the first major league batter he faced, Boston's Wade Boggs, on a groundball. He threw his last pitch in 2007, a ball on a full count to Colorado's Todd Helton in Game 2 of Boston's World Series sweep.

A shoulder injury and surgery sidelined him for all of 2008. Then, at age 42, he had to weigh long hours of rehabilitation against the alternatives — spending more time with his wife and four children and focusing on his video game company.

So Schilling, a free agent, scrapped his idea of possibly signing with a contender in the second half of the season.

He pitched for Baltimore, Philadelphia, Houston, Arizona and Boston over his 20-year big-league career.

"It is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official," Schilling wrote on his blog. "The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime."

Schilling pitched brilliantly in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees just days after surgery to suture a loose tendon to his right ankle.

The procedure was repeated before another outstanding outing in Game 2 of the World Series sweep of St. Louis as Schilling led Boston to the title in his first season with the Red Sox after he was acquired in a trade a few days after Thanksgiving.

In both games, blood seeped through his sock.

Schilling finished with a 216-146 record and a 3.46 ERA. He is tied for 80th on the career wins list and his 3,116 strikeouts ranks 15th overall. He won more than 20 games three times from 2001 through 2004.

He has an 11-2 postseason record, the best of any pitcher with at least 10 decisions, with a 2.23 ERA in 19 career starts.

ELSEWHERE

Red Sox: Brad Penny (shoulder) pitched three hitless innings in his spring training debut and Boston hit four consecutive homers in a 7-6 win over Detroit yesterday at Fort Myers, Fla. Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, Chris Carter and Ivan Ochoa hit consecutive homers to left field off Brandon Lyon in the sixth for Boston.

Yankees: Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is making progress in his rehab program after right hip surgery, but is unlikely to rejoin the team before New York breaks spring training camp April 1. "I'm not anticipating it," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said yesterday. "It's only 10 days. His rehab is going well."

Padres: San Diego added two right-handers, agreeing to a minor league contract with Shawn Hill and acquiring Luke Gregerson from St. Louis to complete the deal that sent shortstop Khalil Greene to the Cardinals. Hill was released by Washington on Wednesday.