Sorry Curt, You Stay

Nobody was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.  Curt Schilling came the closest, finishing just 16 votes shy of the 75 percent threshold needed for induction.  Next year is the last time Schilling's name can appear on the ballot, and candidates typically get a boost in their final year of eligibility, so it's not unrealistic to think he could've gotten the necessary votes in 2022.  Now that's not just unlikely.  It's all but impossible.  Schilling has made sure of that.

Perhaps sensing the writing on the wall, Schilling wrote a lengthy letter to the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors (which he also posted on Twitter and Facebook) requesting that his name be removed from the ballot.  It was a grievance-filled, "woe-is-me" whine that accused the writers of being biased against him and basically delegitimizing the entire process.  He said he'd rather take his chances with the Today's Game Committee, stating "I'll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player."

Now, you don't need me to tell you that the best way to endear yourself to someone isn't by insulting them!  And, with his letter, Schilling was basically flipping off the entire electorate!  He told the only people who control whether he gets into the Hall of Fame or not that he has no respect for them and their opinions are worthless.  If those 16 voters were on the fence, they're most likely not anymore.  Why should they should you the respect you clearly don't have for them?

Ever since the first Baseball Hall of Fame election in 1936, the honor has gone to the writers.  You need to be an active member of the Baseball Writers Association of America with 10 years of service to even be eligible to vote.  It's a privilege to have a Hall of Fame vote, and they all take that responsibility very seriously!

Schilling's incredibly outspoken on social media and has made many controversial statements.  He thinks that if his opinions were less unpopular, he'd already have been elected to the Hall of Fame.  Schilling clearly holds a grudge against the writers, who he feels are biased against him.

Except here's the problem with his argument: He still got 71 percent of the vote!  There are some writers who may disagree with his views but voted for him anyway.  Schilling has also seen his vote total go UP every year, from 38 percent in his first year (on a loaded ballot that featured nine eventual Hall of Famers, none of whom were voted in that year) to a high of 71 percent this year.  He didn't even top 50 percent until 2018, his sixth year of eligibility!

So, controversial opinions or not, there are still plenty of writers who think Curt Schilling had a Hall of Fame-worthy career, which is what they're judging.  And, let's not forget how loaded the ballots have been in recent years!  Otherwise, Schilling probably would've gotten more support a lot sooner and possibly would've been inducted already.

That's not the way he sees it, though.  Schilling is convinced that the only reason he hasn't been elected yet is because of his political views.  Which couldn't be further from the truth!  Seven out of every 10 voters still checked the box next to Schilling's name!  Those who didn't have their reasons why not.  Some of them may be turned off by his political views.  What's more likely, however, is that they think he had a very good career, just not one that they judge to be Hall of Fame worthy.

Not satisfied with that, Schilling is basically attempting to take his ball and go home.  He's trying to make a preemptive strike.  Schilling thinks he sees the writing on the wall, so he wants to make it look like it was his decision.  "I don't want your stupid Hall of Fame anyway!  So there!"

In response, Jack O'Connell, the Secretary-Treasurer of the BBWAA, wrote his own letter to the Hall of Fame asking them to reject Schilling's request.  His basic point was that it's not up to the players, or even the Hall of Fame, who's on the ballot.  And Schilling meets all of the eligibility criteria laid out by the BBWAA, so there's no reason to remove his name.

Basically, what O'Connell's saying is to let the writers decide.  They're the ones who've been entrusted with compiling a ballot and voting on those candidates.  And if the electorate deems Curt Schilling worthy of a plaque in Cooperstown, that's their prerogative.  In fact, because of how difficult it is to reach the required 75 percent threshold, getting voted in by the writers carries a special significance.

This is the process.  It's not perfect, but it works.  Yet Curt Schilling has such a problem with it that he'd rather not even participate in his last year of eligibility.  I have no idea what has made him so jaded, but I'm glad the BBWAA is pushing back.  Especially when those who get dropped from the ballot after one year consider it such an honor even to have been a candidate.  (Dan Haren, who got zero votes, also humorously tweeted that he want to be taken off next year's ballot.)

I want to see him remain on the ballot just to see what happens.  A player normally gets a jump in his final year on the ballot, so it's not unreasonable to think Schilling would've made it next year.  Not anymore.  Instead, he might be the first final-year candidate in history to see his vote total drop.  Significantly. 

And, while this is probably a non-issue, I wonder what would happen if he stays on the ballot and gets 75 percent.  Would Schilling accept an honor he clearly doesn't want?  Is that even possible? 

Frankly, it shouldn't be.  If he doesn't want to get elected the normal way, he shouldn't be elected at all.  If the Hall of Fame honors Schilling's request and takes his name off the ballot, they shouldn't put it on any future Eras Committee ballots, either.  As evidence by his letter, Curt Schilling considers himself above the writers.  Well, the writers are the gatekeepers of the Hall of Fame.  Just as they have the power to put guys in, they have the power to keep guys out.

The best way to send a message to Curt Schilling is not giving him what he wants.  Taking him off the ballot is the easy way out, for the Hall of Fame, for the writers and for Curt Schilling.  He's not getting elected to the Hall of Fame in 2022 one way or the other.  But the writers need to prove a point by leaving his name on the ballot while acting like it isn't there.  Because if Curt Schilling has proven anything with his little temper tantrum, it's that he's not a Hall of Famer.