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Curt Schilling's Request to Be Taken Off Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Rejected
July 30, 2021
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's board of directors voted unanimously to deny a request by former pitcher Curt Schilling to have his name removed from the 2022 ballot on Thursday.
In a statement announcing the election of Craig Biggio, Tom Glavine and Ken Griffey Jr. to the Hall's board of directors, officials in Cooperstown said Schilling will remain on the ballot for the 10th-and-final time in 2022.
The former Boston Red Sox star fell 16 votes short of entry to the Hall of Fame on last year's ballot and published a response on Facebook demanding he not appear on the ballot next year.
"I will not participate in the final year of voting," Schilling wrote. "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. 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."
Eligible players must receive votes on at least 75 percent of ballots submitted. Players who receive less than five percent of the vote are dropped from the ballot the following year. Players who are not elected after 10 years on the ballot are also dropped from future elections.
The Hall of Fame's veterans committee may elect players not selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America on the general ballot.
That's the committee Schilling is hoping will finally grant him entry to baseball's most hallowed grounds. While Schilling has the statistical resume to make it into the Hall, his public statements and actions have impacted how many in the sport view him.
The 54-year-old was suspended by ESPN in 2015 from his broadcast duties for sharing an offensive tweet that compared Muslims to Nazis. Schilling was later fired by the broadcaster in 2016 after he shared an anti-transgender post on Facebook.
It's unclear what Schilling's chances of being elected to the Hall of Fame are in 2022 or whether or not the veterans committee would take up his case should the BBWAA voters keep him out for a tenth year.