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Curt Schilling doesn’t believe he’ll make the Hall of Fame

By Matthew Orso

BOSTON - OCTOBER 24: Pitcher Curt Schilling #38 of the Boston Red Sox takes a moment to himself in the dugout before the start of game two of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 24, 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
BOSTON - OCTOBER 24: Pitcher Curt Schilling #38 of the Boston Red Sox takes a moment to himself in the dugout before the start of game two of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 24, 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /
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The results of the 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame election will be announced on January 26 on MLB Network.  But Curt Schilling isn’t so confident about being inducted.

“I do not think this year.  I don’t think I’ll get inducted next year either,” former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling told Call to the Pen.  “I think the writers hate my politics enough that it’s not going to happen.”

Schilling’s off the field commentary and opinions has (in the past) left a sour taste in the mouth of writers.  However, Schilling’s vote percentage has increased each of the last four years (45 percent in 2017, 51.2 percent in 2018, 60.9 percent in 2019 and 70 percent last year).  Players up for induction require 75 percent of the ballots cast for induction.

2021 marks Schilling’s ninth year on the ballot.  Should he fail to make it in 2021, 2022 would mark his last year to get into Cooperstown via the baseball writers.

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Schilling, 54, pitched 20 seasons in the majors from 1988-2007.  He won 216 victories over his career and his 3,116 strikeouts are the 15th most in major league history.  13 of the 14 names ahead of Schilling are in the Hall of Fame.  Only Roger Clemens–whose alleged PED usage has him facing an uphill climb for Cooperstown–has not been enshrined into baseball immortality.

The six-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion is also considered one of the greatest postseason pitchers in history.  He’s 11-2, with a 2.23 ERA in 19 career playoff starts.  He’s a co-World Series MVP winner (alongside Hall of Famer Randy Johnson) for his work in the 2001 Fall Classic.  His bloody sock game back in Game Six of the 2004 ALCS is among the most legendary feats in sports history.

Despite not holding out hope, Curt Schilling is aware of the magnitude of induction for those around him.

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“It would mean that an amazing amount of people in my life will get rewarded for putting the time and effort into me that they did.”

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