Former Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz was the only MLB player elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to enter the Hall of Fame in July.
Curt Schilling, a former teammate, was there to congratulate him.
Schilling lost the chance to enter the Hall through the traditional way (the vote of the BBWAA) after failing to enter in his tenth year.
On the field, he was a true warrior and a worthy candidate to be enshrined.
He finished with a 3.46 ERA, 3,116 strikeouts, and 79.8 Wins Above Replacement, or WAR.
Only 18 pitchers have surpassed 3,000 strikeouts.
He won three World Series: one with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 (in which he was chosen as the MVP) and two with the Red Sox, in 2004 and 2007.
He made his living with excellent command of a mid-90s fastball and a fantastic splitter, one of the very best in the league.
He Was Incredible In The Postseason
When the lights were brightest, in the postseason, he was an absolute beast.
In October, he had an 11-2 record and a minuscule 2-23 ERA in 19 stars, with 120 punchouts in 133.1 innings.
Schilling may very well be the best postseason pitcher in recent history, alongside Madison Bumgarner.
Curt Schilling potentially not being in the HOF because people don’t like him is criminal. He’s one of the best pitchers and quite possibly the best postseason pitchers of all time. Point out a better pitching performance given the circumstances than game 6 of the 04 ALCS
— ©️🅿️ (@corey_plasky) January 25, 2022
Having said all this, Hall voters may not hold him in high esteem.
Schilling has clashed with media members, has criticized teammates and other baseball stars, and is seen as an outspoken person, with controversial opinions on various subjects.
He also famously requested to be removed from the ballot on his final year of eligibility, instead asking for his case to be reviewed by the Veteran’s Committee.
He has certainly lived an intense life: he made friends, lots of enemies, has been involved in politics, survived cancer, was a postseason hero, and a Hall of Fame snub.
Yes, he didn’t win a Cy Young award and finished well short of 300 wins, with 216, but totals have lost value and weight in the Hall of Fame final analysis in the minds of many voters.
That isn’t such a big obstacle anymore, and that’s evidenced by the acceptance of Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina to the Hall.
But his character may be keeping him from the Hall and that may not be fair.
Did He Hurt His Own Case?
He had been gaining some steam, increasing his popularity amongst voters from 38.8 percent in 2013 to 52.3 percent in 2016.
However, he, according to Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs, promoted a tweet endorsing violence toward journalists during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Perhaps as a result of his social media persona, he fell to 45.0 percent in 2017.
He lost many votes in that year, and lots of voters referred to the famous “character clause” to admit players to the Hall.
There is no reason to keep him from the Hall, however, a place full of former players with questionable “characters”.
Perhaps the Veteran’s Committee (actually named the Today’s Game Era committee now) can have a fairer evaluation of Schilling’s Hall of Fame case.
That committee will meet in December 2022.
I’ll say this as it relates to the Curt Schilling snub I’ll give this parallel:
I wouldn’t give the Walter Payton award to Aaron Rodgers but I’ll give him the MVP. Same thing applies for Curt Schilling when it relates to the Hall of Fame— Juan RC (@class_clown36) January 26, 2022
He was a true star on the mound, and while he may not be the most likable person for many people, he belongs in Cooperstown.
NEXT: 3 Best Stats From David Ortiz's Legendary MLB Career