The Republican of Springfield (Mass.), March 4:

Few public figures have had as much drama attached to their ups and downs as Curt Schilling, the former Red Sox pitcher whose memorable victories, failed video game enterprise and battle with cancer have made him a compelling newsmaker.

This week, Schilling delivered one of the best fastballs of his life. He threw a high, hard one at an entire cottage industry of vulgar, disgusting social media abusers by tracking down the identities of Twitter users taking shots at his daughter.

Gabby Schilling will play college softball at Salve Regina, and the proud dad publicly congratulated her. What followed were vile, revolting sexual comments that showed the worst side of our networked society.

Such tweets are often answered by helpless lamenting of the loss of civility and decency. But Schilling did not accept the violations so meekly; he discovered the source of some tweets, one of whom was suspended by Brookdale Community College and another fired by his employer ”“ the New York Yankees.

This is not a Red Sox-Yankees thing. Schilling’s counterattack should never have been needed in the first place, yet it is a refreshing response to the cesspool of garbage being anonymously tossed out in public by cowards with digital access.

To say it makes Schilling a hero and an inspiration to all parents who worry about cyber abuse is not too strong a statement.

Even avid social media users generally concede the negative side of modern, interconnected media. The normal response is frustration; it seems that nothing can be done short of shutting down the information flow altogether, which won’t happen now that the genie is out of the bottle.

Sometimes, this helpless feeling is accompanied by hope that in time, society will figure out how to retain the positive elements of Twitter and other social media while eliminating the intrusive, filthy and indefensible aspects.

Schilling took the type of pro-active stance that is his hallmark. As a public figure and one of the first prominent bloggers among baseball players, he has long been aware of the power and use of social media.

But he also offered this loud response to low-lifes everywhere: leave my daughter alone. Don’t think that hiding on Twitter will remove your responsibility.

Social media being the expansive beast it is, most offended individuals will not be able to respond to attacks as rapidly and effectively as Schilling did. But his message should resonate throughout society: We’ve spent enough time indulging sewer communication. Let this be a message that decency and accountability are still to be expected, even in the digital age.