Curt Schilling fell short in the Hall of Fame voting this year but his reaction to former Red Sox teammate David Ortiz getting in was a bit surprising.
Curt Schilling’s final Hall of Fame ballot came and went, and he’ll remain on the outside, looking in.
His former Boston Red Sox teammate, David Ortiz, was the only candidate from this year’s ballot to get the call to Cooperstown.
In the past, Schilling’s reactions to Hall of Fame candidacy and results have ranged from “I don’t care” to “Take me off the ballot,” never anything diplomatic. But when this year’s results were announced, Schilling had a surprisingly classy and kind response:
Curt Schilling: David Ortiz deserves to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer
Schilling has become known for his controversial social media presence over the years, and his oft-inflammatory speech was a key factor in him not joining Ortiz in the Hall of Fame.
Of course, Schilling’s follow-up was more in line with his comments about the BBWAA and journalists in recent years:
He also corrected people who replied to his tweet to complain about Ortiz’s supposed PED test in 2003, and took another opportunity to bash journalists:
Schilling’s life post-pitching has been a downfall of his own creation. He’s made no secret of his affinity for buying Nazi uniforms and artifacts (he calls it appreciating history), his dislike and distrust of Muslims, and his belief that journalists – a group he’s called “frauds” many times – should be lynched. ESPN fired him for posting transphobic content to his social media.
When Schilling voiced his support for the Jan. 6 Insurrection last year, several BBWAA voters requested to remove Schilling from their ballots. Schilling responded with a request of his own, that he be removed from this year’s ballot altogether.
While Schilling’s request was denied, and he remained on the ballot this year, his final year of eligibility, the voters took it upon themselves to acquiesce. In 2021, he received 71.1 percent (75 percent is the minimum for election); this year, only 58.6 percent.
If the Hall of Fame was simply about talent, Schilling would probably be in by now. Many think it should be about what a player did on the field, nothing else. But the voting rules stipulate that voting needs to factor in a candidate’s “character” and “integrity,” essentially forcing the voters to be arbiters of morality. From a moral standpoint, requiring said factors is the correct thing to do, though it makes the process infinitely more complicated.
Ultimately, the reason Schilling isn’t in the Hall is himself.