Curt Schilling was shut out on Tuesday as he fell 16 votes shy of receiving induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Schilling was named on 71.1 percent of the ballots. He needed 75 percent to earn induction into Cooperstown.
Zero players earned induction. It is the first that has happened since 2013 and the ninth time overall.
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Curt Schilling, others miss out on Baseball Hall of Fame
Schilling fell 20 votes shy of induction in 2020 when he received 70 percent of the vote.
Controversial figures Barry Bonds (61.8) and Roger Clemens (61.6) received the second and third most votes. Scott Rolen (52.9) and Omar Vizquel (49.1) round out the top five.
There were 11 newcomers to the 25-player ballot.
The right-handed Schilling will be on the ballot for one more year.
There are observers who say Schilling has hurt his candidacy with controversial comments over the past few years, often made from his Twitter account, but his credentials sparkle.
Curt Schilling released a statement after being passed over for induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“I will not participate in the final year of voting. I am requesting to be removed from the ballot,” the all-time great pitcher said in a Facebook post. “I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player.”
Curt Schilling career accomplishments
Schilling was a six-time All-Star who went 216-146 with a 3.46 ERA, 3,116 strikeouts, 83 complete games and 20 shutouts in 20 seasons from 1988-2007 with the Baltimore Orioles (1988-90), Houston Astros (1991), Philadelphia Phillies (1992-2000), Arizona Diamondbacks (2000-03) and Boston Red Sox (2004-07). He walked just 711 batters in 3,261 innings.
He was twice runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award (2001-02) and also finished second for the AL Cy Young Award in 2004. Schilling won more than 20 games in each of those three seasons, including a career-best 23 for the Diamondbacks in 2002.
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Curt Schilling was a big-game pitcher in the postseason, going 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA and two shutouts in 19 starts. He was World Series co-MVP with Randy Johnson in 2001 when Arizona defeated the Yankees in seven games. He also was part of two title teams with the Red Sox (2004, 2007).
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The candidacies of both Clemens and Bonds have been controversial due to suspicions they used illegal performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.
Barry Bonds, others miss out on Baseball Hall of Fame
Bonds is the sport’s all-time leader with 762 homers and won a record seven NL MVP awards over his 22 seasons (1986-2007). He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-92) and San Francisco Giants (1993-2007).
Clemens owns a record seven-time Cy Young Awards and went 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA, 4,672 strikeouts and 46 shutouts during 24 seasons from 1984-2007. He pitched for the Red Sox (1984-96), Toronto Blue Jays (1997-1998), Yankees (1999-2003, 2007) and Astros (2004-06).
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Rolen was a seven-time All-Star over 17 seasons with the Phillies (1996-2002), St. Louis Cardinals (2002-07), Toronto Blue Jays (2008-09) and Cincinnati Reds (2009-12). He batted .281 with 316 homers.
Vizquel was a defensive mastermind who won 11 Gold Glove Awards and had 2,877 career hits over 24 big league seasons, 11 of them with the Cleveland Indians.
–Field Level Media