Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum closed for several weeks in mid-March, and reopened in late June after making changes to increase safety protocols and ensure social distancing guidelines are followed. baseball hall of fame

Curt Schilling has had a tough time attracting the needed votes for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, despite a compelling case. In the balloting for the Class of 2021, Schilling received 71.1% of the votes, an all-time high for him and less than 4% away from the 75% needed for election. This was also the highest percentage of any player on last year’s ballot (which saw no one earn election) by nearly 10% (Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens each received a little over 61% of the votes).

Following the release of the 2021 results, Schilling requested that his name be pulled from the 2022 ballot, his last of ten eligible years. In his statement earlier this year, Schilling said he would “defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player.”

Unfortunately for Schilling, it doesn’t appear that the Hall will be honoring his request. According to BBWAA president C. Trent Rosecrans, Schilling’s request was unanimously denied.

Alright then!

I’m not going to detail Schilling’s on-field accomplishments (of which there are many) and off-field controversies (of which there are also many) because I feel like we go down this road every year and you’re all familiar with them by this point.

The 2022 ballot, which will be released later this year (with results typically announced during MLB’s Winter Meetings), features Bonds, Clemens, Schilling, and Sammy Sosa each in their final year of eligibility. Notable first-timers include Ryan Howard, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins, and Mark Teixeira, all worthy candidates, albeit with significant warts.

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.