‘Media created a Curt Schilling that does not exist,’ ex-star says
In a grievance-filled, 1,100-word screed posted to his Facebook account, Curt Schilling requested he be removed from Hall of Fame consideration in his final year of eligibility, reiterating his disdain for the news media and expressing disgust that his history of transphobic and violent statements are conflated with performance-enhancing drug users.
Schilling narrowly missed election to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening, getting named on 71.1 per cent of 301 ballots, just 16 votes shy of the 75 per cent required for induction.
It was Schilling’s ninth year of eligibility, and his vote share has nearly doubled since receiving 38.8 per cent in 2013.
But Schilling’s upward trend in voting — not atypical for players whose statistical cases are shy of automatic — has come as his off-field conduct and apparent belief system have angered supporters.
Schilling was fired from his role on ESPN’S “Sunday Night Baseball” in 2016 after posting an anti-transgender meme to his Facebook page.
In recent years, he has aligned with far-right extremists such as former U.S. president Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, expressed support for a meme that read “Rope. Tree. Journalist,” and wondered aloud whether Muslims may be as dangerous as Nazis.
Most recently, Schilling tweeted strident support for the group that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to overturn election results.
“sit back [shut up] and watch folks start a confrontation for [expletive] that matters like rights, democracy and the end of [government] corruption. #itshappening,” Schilling tweeted, in part.
Ballots for the 2021 election had to be postmarked Dec. 31, meaning Tuesday’s results did not reflect any potential blowback from his remarks on the Capitol attack, during which five people were killed.
His letter to the hall suggested he was offended his personal views might cost him support and lump him in with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who have slam-dunk statistical cases for the Hall of Fame yet are strongly tied to use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Like Schilling, they are in their ninth and penultimate year on the ballot, logging 61.8 per cent (Bonds) and 61.6 per cent (Clemens).
A record 14 blank ballots were submitted, according to the Hall of Fame, which is a form of protest vote voters have used in the past to suppress candidacies.
“Nothing, zero, none of the claims being made by any of the writers hold merit,” Schilling wrote in his message. “In my 22 years playing professional baseball in the most culturally diverse locker rooms in sports I’ve never said or acted in any capacity other than being a good teammate.”
Schilling’s request is not unprecedented. Marvin Miller, who shepherded the players’ association out of an era of servitude and toward prosperity, was snubbed in veterans’ committee elections in 2003, ’07 and ’11, after which he requested he no longer be considered for the honour.
Miller died in ’12; he was elected by the Today’s Game Committee in December ’19 and will be enshrined this July.
Schilling won 216 games in his career, his 3,116 strikeouts and peripheral stats buttressing his candidacy.
He also won 11 post-season games, capturing World Series titles in 2001, ’04 and ’07.