Curt Schilling: Hall of Fame Snub

Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio

On Tuesday, January 6, 2015, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio into the Hall of Fame.They will be officially inducted at the ceremony on July 26 as part of the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend on July 24-27. 549 ballots were cast, with 412 votes (75%) needed to get into the Hall of Fame. Biggio made it in on his third time on the ballot, while the other three are first-ballot inductees. Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling and Barry Bonds are notable candidates that missed the cut.

On a pitcher heavy ballot, Curt Schilling was overlooked. He was a much more dominant pitcher than Smoltz, and his stats and accomplishments can prove it. Schilling received 43.7% fewer votes and played in nearly as many seasons as Smoltz, while still posting a career WAR 14.2 points higher. Schilling won 3 World Series rings and was named World Series MVP in 2001. Smoltz, on the other hand, only won the World Series in 1991 and was named NLCS MVP once. That season, Smoltz had an ERA just below 4.00 and went 14-13. Also, he was never closer than 3rd on the Cy Young ballot. Schilling, however, was voted 2nd three times in a four year span, falling just short of teammate and 2015 Hall of Fame inductee, Randy Johnson every time. Schilling has the best strikeout to walk ratio for players with at least 300 K's since Jim Whitney in 1883.


John Smoltz was a great player, but he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Great Players. Smoltz does not have a signature moment for which all fans remember him. Schilling, on the other hand, is well-known for "the bloody sock game." In game 6 of the 2004 NLCS, Schilling pitched with a lacerated ankle, and his performance saved the Red Sox's Wold Series hopes. Boston eventually won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. Schilling's signature performance will be forever remembered as one of the most clutch performances in sports history. John Smoltz will simply be remembered as a good pitcher. It appears the BBWAA overlooked Schilling when electing Smoltz, because Schilling proves to be a much stronger candidate. Schilling was snubbed this year, but he still has eight more opportunities to be voted in, not including the Golden Era Committee ballot.