After falling short of the required 75% of votes to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, retired pitcher Curt Schilling requested to be removed from the 2022 ballot.
Schilling appeared on 71.1% of the ballots cast in the latest Baseball Hall of Fame election. The election committee is comprised of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). In order for a player to be inducted, he needs to receive 75% of the votes. Schilling fell 16 votes shy of induction.
The BBWAA has been in charge of the inductions since 1936, after the Baseball Hall of Fame designated the writers to be the voters.
Schilling is a retired pitcher who played from 1988-2007. The high-octane pitcher is a six-time All-Star and was the National League strikeouts leader twice (1997-1998) when he pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies. In addition to those accolades, Schilling won three World Series and was the World Series MVP in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Schilling has 3,116 career strikeouts and 216 career wins.
After falling just a few percentage points short, the former pitcher released a Facebook post requesting to be removed from the 2022 ballot. The 54-year-old wants to be considered by the Veterans Committee, as he doesn’t believe the BBWAA is impartial or that they have a valid opinion. The Veterans Committee is a group of retired baseball players that elects participants other than recently retired players.
Schilling also believes that he was snubbed at least partially due to his vocal support for former President Donald Trump. Schilling has been a toxic figure since his retirement and even supported the storming of the Capitol on January 6. He wrote on Twitter, “You cowards say on your hands, did nothing while liberal trash looted rioted and burned for air Jordan’s and big screens, sit back, stfu, and watch folks start a confrontation for shit that matters like rights, democracy and the end of govt corruption. #itshappening.”
Schilling has also directed some hateful comments towards Muslims, transgender people, journalists and others.
Jane Forbes Clark, who chairs the Hall of Fame’s board of directors, confirmed that they will consider the veteran pitcher’s request. BBWAA secretary and treasurer Jack O’Connell issued a statement Wednesday:
“It is the position of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America that Mr. Schilling’s request to remove himself from the ballot is a violation of the rules set forth by the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors, who have commissioned the BBWAA to conduct the annual elections, specifically the following: ‘The duty of the Screening Committee shall be to prepare a ballot listing in alphabetical order eligible candidates who (1) received a vote on a minimum of five percent (5%) of the ballots cast in the preceding election or (2) are eligible for the first time and are nominated by any two of the six members of the BBWAA Screening Committee.’ Mr. Schilling has fulfilled both of those requirements and should remain on the ballot for consideration by the voting body for what would be his final year on the BBWAA ballot in 2022.”
