Curt Schilling Asks to Be Removed From Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Curt Schilling was not elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year as he came up 16 [...]

Curt Schilling was not elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year as he came up 16 votes short. And with 2022 being the final year he's eligible to be voted in by the baseball writers, Schilling has requested to have his name taken off the ballot. The three-time World Series Champion went to Facebook to share a letter he wrote to the Hall of Fame, asking them to refer his name to the veterans committee.

"I can say at this point I am mentally done," Schilling wrote. "I know math and I know trends and I know I will not attain the 75% threshold for induction. ..."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," Schilling 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 has the resume to be in the Hall of Fame, but his comments about politics and social issues have not sat well with writers. In 2016, Schilling posted a tweet, in which he appeared to endorse the lynching of journalists, according to ESPN. And most recently, Schilling showed support for the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, but by that time, the writers had submitted their ballots before the attack.

"Nothing, zero, none of the claims being made by any of the writers hold merit," Schilling wrote in the letter. "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 went on to say that he played with "wife beaters, adulterers, assaulted, drug addicts and alcoholics. I've never hit a woman, driven drunk, done drugs, PEDs or otherwise, assaulted anyone or committed any sort of crime."

Schilling played in the major leagues from 1988-2007. Along with winning three World Series titles, Schilling was a six-time all-star and World Series MVP winner in 2001. In his 20-year career, Schilling played for the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamond Backs and Boston Red Sox.

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