Schilling says right-wing views cost him HOF votes
Curt Schilling says members of the BBWAA won't vote for him because of the Republican leanings.
CURT SCHILLING took to Twitter hours after appearing on a Boston radio station to tweet he was kidding when he said his right-wing views cost him votes in the recent Baseball Hall of Fame election.
Damage control? Let's just say that Schilling, not known as a funny guy, sure sounded serious when he appeared on WEEI yesterday morning.
On Tuesday, the former Phillies ace received 39.2 percent of the Hall of Fame votes, well short of the 75 percent needed to get to Cooperstown. The four players who were selected - John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Craig Biggio - all received more than 450 votes. Schilling had 215.
Whether he was joking or not, Schilling, a staunch Republican, indicated that members of the Baseball Writers Association of American didn't vote for him because of his views.
"Absolutely," Schilling said. "When human beings do anything, there's bias and prejudice . . . I don't think it kept me out, but I do know that there are guys who probably won't ever vote for me because of the things I said or did."
Schilling went on to say that politics may have played a role in Smoltz's election.
"I think he got in because of [Greg] Maddux and [Tom] Glavine. I think the fact that they won 14 straight pennants. I think his Swiss Army Knife versatility . . . I think he got a lot of accolades for that," Schilling said. "And I think the other big thing is that I think he's a Democrat and so I know that, as a Republican, that there's some people that really don't like that."
Guess Schilling apparently doesn't know that Smoltz was among those who donated to Mitt Romney's presidental campaign. Or that Smoltz, speaking about the legalization of gay marriage, once said, "What's next, marrying an animal?"
If Schilling gets into the Hall, it will be because his numbers warrant it.
Until then, he should put a bloody sock in it.
