Curt Schilling Goes Ballistic on Baseball Writers, Makes Drastic Decision After Hall-of-Fame Snub
Curt Schilling has missed out on the Baseball Hall of Fame yet again.
In his ninth and penultimate year on the ballot, Schilling received 71.1% of the votes submitted from baseball writers around the country. The longtime Philadelphia Phillie fell just 16 votes shy of the 75% threshold necessary to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Schilling only has one more chance to reach that threshold and find his way to Cooperstown, but he isn’t interested in sticking around for another year. He even sent a parting shot at the baseball writers who refuse to honor his career on his way out.
Curt Schilling narrowly misses out on the Baseball Hall of Fame
The Baseball Hall of Fame is one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports. Every year, the fate of MLB legends is decided by a few hundred baseball writers from around the country who have covered the game for decades. And they’re a stingy bunch, too. Only about 1% of players who have ever suited up in the MLB have made it to Cooperstown.
For former Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox great Curt Schilling, his time was running out. This year marked the ninth and second-to-last year of eligibility for the six-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion, but it was no different than the previous eight. Schilling was again left out of the Hall of Fame in 2021, falling short of the 75% threshold by 16 votes.
2022 will mark Schilling’s final chance to reach the Hall of Fame, but it sounds as if he’s given up hope.
Schilling asks to be removed from the HOF ballot
After failing to reach the 75% threshold for a ninth straight year, Curt Schilling took to Facebook to post a letter he sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In the letter, Schilling requested to be removed from the ballot for his final year of eligibility.
“I will not participate in the final year of voting. I am requesting to be removed from the ballot,” Schilling wrote. “I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player. I don’t think I’m a hall of famer as I’ve often stated but if former players think I am then I’ll accept that with honor.”
Curt Schilling goes ballistic on baseball writers on his way out
Curt Schilling is clearly fed up with the Hall-of-Fame voters after nine years of disrespect, and he’s not mincing words about it. In his Facebook post, Schilling blasted the baseball writers on his way out of Hall-of-Fame consideration.
“I can say at this point I am mentally done. I know math and I know trends and I know I will not attain the 75% threshold for induction,” Schilling wrote. “As I’ve stated often over the past years to those I’ve spoken with in my heart I am at peace. Nothing, zero, none of the claims being made by any of the writers hold merit.”
Letting go of his Hall-of-Fame dreams can’t be easy for Schilling, but he still took a moment to thank the game that gave him so much joy.
“Whatever mine is as a player it will be the truth, and one I earned for better or worse,” he continued. “The game has made it clear it does not want me back and that’s fine, the game owes me exactly nothing. It gave a billion more times than it took and I’ll forever be deeply in debt to it.”
