Retired Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling posted a letter Tuesday blasting critics who opposed his induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The vote: Earlier in the day, the MLB Hall of Famer announced voters had narrowly rejected Schilling, who won three World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox.
- The 54-year-old received 71% of the vote, short of the 75% needed for induction.
- A number of voters’ decisions were likely influenced by Schilling’s outspoken political statements off the field.
- After he tweeted in support of the January 6 Capitol riot, a number of voters reportedly asked to change their ballots.
The response: The 54-year-old supporter of Donald Trump wrote a letter to the Hall of Fame that he also posted to Facebook.
- Schilling slammed the “spineless cowards” in the media that “created a Curt Schilling that does not and has never existed,” declaring, “I’ve never hit a woman, driven drunk, done drugs, PEDs or otherwise, assaulted anyone or committed any sort of crime.”
- “But I’m now somehow in a conversation with two men who cheated, and instead of being accountable they chose to destroy others lives to protect their lie,” he added, referring to fellow Hall nominees and performance-enhancing drug users Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.
“My love of this country has always been worn on my sleeve,” Schilling said, before announcing his wish that he be removed from next year’s ballot.
MLB infighting: Schilling also blasted retired All-Star outfielder and notorious performance-enhancing drug user Jose Canseco, who tweeted that Schilling would be a “disgrace” to the Hall.
- Schilling said it was in fact Canseco who was the disgrace, and added an apparent jab about their respective records.
Controversial character: Even before he appeared to endorse the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, Schilling, a long-time backerer of Republican politicians, faced criticism for his strident support of Trump and his animosity towards the media establishment.
- In June, Schilling posted materials on his Facebook page promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory.
- In 2016, he tweeted “Ok, so much awesome here…” over a picture of a shirt with the words “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required.”
- He eventually deleted the tweet but mocked his critics, saying, “Amazing the things people pick and choose to be offended by. A smart ass shirt? 4 dead men in Benghazi. #safespacesforall.”
