Curt Schilling, one of the best Major League Baseball pitchers of his generation, was denied entry yet again to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Then again, so were Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, players who were rejected by the Hall's contemporary era committee likely because of allegations of steroid use.
But some media outlets are suggesting because Schilling is an unabashed conservative and supporter of former President Donald Trump, he is being held out for his political views.
On the field, Schilling had few peers during his 20-year career. He is one of 19 pitchers to strike out 3,000 batters; of the retired players, only Schilling, Clemens and C.C. Sabathia, not eligible yet for induction, are not enshrined in Cooperstown, New York. He played on three World Series champions, had an 11-2 record in the postseason and won 20 games in a season three times.
But Schilling has been a staunch advocate for conservative issues since his retirement, using Twitter to get his message out, including support for the protesters during the Capitol riot Jan. 6, 2021.
"The one guy I was a little surprised about was Curt Schilling," said ESPN senior writer Dick Schoenfield on Monday during the "Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney" podcast.
Schoenfield mentioned "aside from his other stuff" and Olney interjected "post-career tweets" and Schoenfield continued, "take out his tweets, to me he should have been in a long time ago. … He would raise the standard of Hall of Fame pitchers, but he still can't get in and a lot of that is his own fault."
Only one player from the Hall's contemporary era committee earned the necessary 12 votes to be enshrined, Fred McGriff, who got all 16 votes from the panel of baseball executives, historians, media members, and former players. Schilling received only seven votes.
Schilling's only mention on Twitter of Sunday's vote was a congratulatory tweet to McGriff.
"Congratulations to the CRIME DOG! A well-earned honor my friend! God Bless! #HOF," Schilling wrote, referencing McGriff's nickname of Crime Dog.
Pete Abraham, who covers the Boston Red Sox for The Boston Globe, tweeted a quote of support for Schilling from David Ortiz, a Hall of Famer who was Schilling's teammate on the Red Sox from 2004 to 2007, winning two World Series together.
"I know some people have personal issues with him," Ortiz said. "For me, he was a complete package as a teammate. I don't think we win [in 2004] without him. He pitched in some huge games for us."
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