Curt Schilling’s Hall of Fame vote numbers have fluctuated in his past three years on the ballot, but he’s not too concerned.
The former Boston Red Sox starter hasn’t had much support in his early years of eligibility, collecting 38.8 percent, 29.3 percent and 39.2 percent of the votes, respectively. But Schilling has other things on his mind.
“It’s colder and I’m worried my chickens are getting frostbite on their combs,” Schilling told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on Wednesday. “Honest to God, that’s what I’m worried about.”
Schilling respects the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he knows there’s not much he can do to earn a plaque in Cooperstown now that his career is in the past. That’s why he’s more focused on his memories of the game rather than on trying to immortalize himself in baseball history.
“The hard part for me is I don’t want to say the things I say and diminish what I think the Hall of Fame represents,” Schilling said. “But it is the most subjective things I’ve ever been around. I read an article the other day about a writer that didn’t vote for me, and he didn’t vote for me because I only had 216 wins. And John Smoltz he voted for because he had 214 wins. I made peace with it a long time ago.”
Whether he’d have your vote or not, there is a strong Hall of Fame case to be made for Schilling. The right-hander could consistently deliver, has three World Series wins (one with the Arizona Diamondbacks and two with the Red Sox) and racked up 3,116 career strikeouts in his 20-year career to go with a 3.46 ERA. Plus, his lack of wins can be attributed to the fact that he played for more bad teams than good.
The lack of love despite that has made some pundits wonder if Schilling’s political views are keeping him out. And if that’s the case, Schilling isn’t changing anything.
“I don’t care,” Schilling told Bradford. “I’m not going to change who I am, do what I do, or say what I say to make people think differently of me. … If my mouth keeps me out of the Hall of Fame then it’s a flawed process, if that’s the reason people don’t vote for me. If they don’t vote for because they don’t think I belong, then that’s absolutely a valid point.”
Thumbnail photo via David Manning/USA TODAY Sports Images
