Baseball Hall of Fame Won't Pull Curt Schilling From 2022 BBWAA Ballot

Curt Schilling probably won’t be getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his 10th and last shot at entry into Coopertown — but he definitely won’t be getting off of the ballot.

Schilling’s request to be removed from consideration for Cooperstown was denied in a unanimous vote, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s board of directors announced Thursday. That being the case, the 54-year-old will remain on the 2022 Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot. It will be his final time on a HOF ballot.

“The Board of Directors also reviewed Curt Schilling’s request to be removed from the 2022 Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot,” the Hall of Fame said in a statement. “In a unanimous decision, the request was denied. Schilling will remain eligible for the BBWAA ballot for the 10th-and-final time in 2022.”

A six-time All-Star over 20 seasons in Major League Baseball, Schilling voiced his support for the deadly riot at the Capitol in early January, leading some BBWAA voters to request to change their ballots and remove the outspoken former pitcher.

Writers’ requests to amend their ballots were denied, but Schilling still fell 16 votes short of being elected to the Hall as he took home 71.1% of the vote. (The Hall has a 75% threshold for entry.)

After the results became public, Schilling requested to be removed from the HOF ballot in 2022 in a lengthy Facebook post.

“I will not participate in the final year of voting. I am requesting to be removed from the ballot,” he wrote. “I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player. I don’t think I’m a hall of famer as I’ve often stated but if former players think I am then I’ll accept that with honor.”

A dominant pitcher in the playoffs (11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 career postseason starts), Schilling never won a Cy Young award and his 216 career wins are not even close to 300, a HOF benchmark. A borderline HOF candidate, Schilling certainly hasn’t helped his candidacy with his opinions.

Should Schilling get into Cooperstown, he’ll have to make the drive to upstate New York from Tennessee after moving his family there earlier this year following almost 15 years living in Massachusetts. “Outside of our circle of friends, it hasn’t been a real pleasant experience in Boston,’’ Schilling told USA Today. “So we’re just trying to find a place to live out our lives with happiness with people that are nice, and Tennessee is it.’’