Curt Schilling saw a pretty significant jump in the number of votes he received for the Hall of Fame this year, but it wasn’t enough as the ex-Boston Red Sox pitcher fell short of induction in his seventh year on the ballot.
The retired hurler jumped to 60.9-percent of the vote from 51.2-percent a year earlier, but still was well short of the 75-percent threshold needed to get inducted. The only four to make the cut in 2019 were Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina and Edgar Martinez.
Despite not getting the call, Schilling took to Twitter to congratulate the newest group of players heading to Cooperstown, NY.
4 men who absolutely deserved it. They were better men than they were players and their HOF players. Congrats Mo, Doc, Moose and Edgar. You all are deserving! #HOF2019
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) January 22, 2019
From a numbers standpoint, a legitimate, if not convincing case could be made that Schilling should be in the Hall of Fame. However, his outspoken alt-right political beliefs not only led to his firing from ESPN, but also him falling out of favor with many baseball writers — who are the ones that vote on Hall of Fame induction. President Donald Trump, whom Schilling is an outspoken supporter of, lobbied Sunday on Twitter for the hurler to get voted in.
Schilling’s vote totals jumping bodes well for him possibly getting inducted at some point, but it’ll have to happen in the next three years or else he’ll fall off the ballot.
