PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- In less than a year, Curt Schilling's baseball legacy is going to get its first major test.

The 2013 Hall of Fame ballot is the first one that will include Schilling's name. It will be his first chance to see how his 216 career wins, .596 winning percentage, 3,116 strikeouts and glittering postseason resume (11-2, 2.23 ERA in 19 starts) stack up against the other all-time greats.

And it will be a lightning rod of a ballot that also includes Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio.

Schilling already knows what the theme of the 2013 ballot, results of which will be announced in January, will be.

"The guys who cheated and the guys who didn't," Schilling said.

For as much of a baseball junkie as Schilling is -- he has as thorough an understanding of the game's history as anyone from his era -- he tries not to think about whether he will get a first-ballot ticket to Cooperstown.

"Honestly, and people find it hard to believe, I don't think about it unless someone asks me about it," Schilling said. "I'm done playing. I'm not going to strike anybody else out; I'm not going to win any more games. I did what I did."

Always outspoken about the PED issue, Schilling says he's just grateful he can look his kids in the eye without guilt.

"At the end of the day, it's the thing that allows me to converse with my kids about it -- doing things the right way," Schilling said. "I didn't cheat. [Others] did. There's a lot more of them that cheated than I ever thought."

Though he vows to have never taken any type of PED, Schilling doesn't absolve himself from blame for what happened during his years as a player.

"A lot of that is on us," Schilling said. "It's on us as players. It absolutely falls on guys like myself and other guys who didn't cheat to not doing anything about it. We're a players' union. We could have done something about it. We chose not to. That falls squarely on us."

Schilling is blunt about the fact he's not sure if he's a Hall of Famer.

"Well, again, I don't know," Schilling said. "I played with Randy Johnson. And Pedro [Martinez] wasn't at his best when I played with him, but he's obviously a Hall of Famer. I played with Scott Rolen. I played with a hobbling Dale Murphy, but I don't understand [why he's not in the Hall]. The guy was the most dominating player in the '80s for a while. ... If it doesn't work out, I can look at some guys who don't have plaques and say, 'Wow, I'm all right.'"

While anyone would be thrilled to receive the Hall of Fame honor, Schilling says he accomplished everything he wanted to in baseball.

"I'm proud to have done what I did," Schilling said. "In '92, my wife and I were talking about what I want, and for some reason we had a conversation then about aspirations in baseball. I said, 'When I retire, I want the 24 guys who suited up with me to say, "Life or death game, who do you want to have the ball?"' I wanted that to be me.

"That was what I wanted to walk away with, and I feel comfortable that I got close to that. The game doesn't have to give me anything else. I still owe it far more than what it could ever owe me. It's completely out of my control. I focus and concentrate on things that I can handle and manage."