Philadelphia Phillies: Cases and chances for Hall of Fame eligible stars
Former Philadelphia Phillies ace Curt Schilling is still waiting for his year
Curt Schilling has been so close to making the Baseball Hall of Fame for years, but his personal and political views have soured writers and kept him off the stage in Cooperstown.
On the Hall of Fame ballot tracker Schilling has 72.3 percent of the current votes with 216 votes (76.1 percent ) still needed to secure 75 percent of the voting population. This year he’s actually lost three votes and has a net loss of two after receiving 73.7 percent last year.
Since losing seven percent (52.3) in 2016 to 45 in 2017, Schilling has had a gradual rise in votes. He nearly regained his lost votes and got up to 51.2 in 2018, then up to 60.9 in 2019, and got so close last year at 70 percent, only 20 votes short.
On paper Schilling is a Hall of Fame pitcher, one of the best in his era and one of the greatest postseason pitchers ever.
In 20 seasons Schilling won 216 games with a 3.46 ERA, 3,116 strikeouts, a 79.5 WAR, three World Series rings, and six All-Star games. He came close to winning a fourth ring in Philadelphia with the ’93 team when he won the NLCS MVP for having a 1.69 ERA and 19 strikeouts against Atlanta.
Schilling really didn’t get good or have a team around him until late in his career, so those 216 wins could’ve been a lot stronger. He had 288 quality starts (49th most in baseball history), which were 66 percent of his career starts.
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Schilling’s percentage of quality starts is better than the top four all-time leaders in quality starts: Don Sutton, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, and Roger Clemens.
When you needed to win a game, Schilling was the guy to go to.
Schilling’s 3,116 strikeouts are also 15th in baseball history behind 13 Hall of Famers and Clemens. Schilling actually has more strikeouts than Cy Young, arguably the greatest pitcher of all-time.
Again, the only thing keeping Schilling out of Cooperstown are his off the field actions. You decide for yourself whether that’s just or not. As a baseball player, he’s one of the best.
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It’s possible Schilling gets in the Hall of Fame this time around. If not, he’ll have one more year of eligibility in 2022. Among the first ballot Hall of Famers in 2022 are his former teammates David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jimmy Rollins.