After falling short on a vote to join the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, former Phillies/Diamondbacks/Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to remove him from next year’s ballot so he can be judged by “men whose opinions actually matter,” ESPN reported.
Schilling indicated in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he believes he fell victim to cancel culture, because the sports journalists who vote on Hall of Fame induction oppose his political beliefs.
“As I’ve stated often over the past years to those I’ve spoken with in my heart I am at peace,” he wrote. “Nothing, zero, none of the claims being made by any of the writers hold merit. 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.”
The BBWAA’s 2021 ballot did not choose any former players to enter the Hall of Fame, the first year without a new entrant since 1960.
No player received at least 75 percent support from the BBWAA ballot, but Schilling came the closest with 71.1 percent support—only 16 votes away from earning the honor.
Players have 10 years to try to win the BBWAA’s approval, and then the decision goes to an MLB veterans committee.
This year was Schilling’s ninth time on the ballot.
“I will not participate in the final year of voting. I am requesting to be removed from the ballot. I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” he wrote. “I don’t think I’m a hall of famer as I’ve often stated but if former players think I am then I’ll accept that with honor.”
Schilling’s social media posts have likely angered left-wing sports journalists.
On a photo of a Trump supporter wearing a shirt that said, “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required,” Schilling commented, “Ok, so much awesome here.”
The six-time All-Star pitcher has regularly seen legacy media journalists attack him.
Schilling wrote that he and his wife, whose undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, suffer every time “some idiot writes another hit piece linking to other hit pieces, none rooted in any sort of truth but rather story after story of ‘what he meant was’ and ‘what he’s saying is’ and ‘that’s a dog whistle for’ all the while providing zero actual acts or quotes of the claims.”
