Tonight Curt Schilling picked up his first save as the new Red Sox closer as the Red Sox and Yankees flip-flopped positions tonight. Schilling's last save came May 3, 1992, as the Phils beat the Giants at Candlestick, 12-3. He earned the save by virtue of his game-ending four-inning stint in which he allowed just one run. His other save that year came in a ten-inning win at Wrigley (7-5 on April 21) even though he gave up a run in his tenth-inning appearance. The Phils took the young journeyman reliever and stuck him in the rotation 16 days after the May 3 save and the rest is history. Just think, if the Phils weren't desperate enough to give Schilling a shot, we never would have witnessed the Grinch-heart-like exponential growth of his ego.

Scilling went thirteen seasons between saves, which made me wonder how long the longest stretch between saves has ever been. Well, here's the answer:

Schilling's tied for third, though it seems highly unlikely anyone will catch up to Carlton's "record". His two career saves came in his first and last full seasons, and neither of which came with the Phils, with whom he spent the bulk of his career.

Herring and Seibold's appearance on the list was greatly aided by the lack of talent during the World Wars. Both spent plenty of time out of the majors before returning to record their saves (which were awarded posthumously anyway).