Earlier this week, I mentioned Ichiro’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame. He was joined in that ceremony by four other players:
- Dick Allen
- Dave Parker
- CC Sabathia
- Billy Wagner.
None of those four had a better career than Ichiro but all four are worthy inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I need to make that clear because I am now going to pick on one of those “new guys”. Here is my question:
- If CC Sabathia can be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, why is Curt Schilling not in the Hall of Fame at all?
Here are some of the stats that got Sabathia more than 85% of the votes in his first year on the ballot.
- Career: 19 years
- Record: 251-161 win percentage = .609
- Career ERA: 3.74
- Strikeouts: 3,093
- All-Star selection: 6 times
- Cy Young Awards: 1
Now let me give you the same stats for Curt Schilling:
- Career: 20 years
- Record: 216-146 win percentage = .597
- Career ERA: 3.46
- Strikeouts: 3,116
- All-Star selection: 6 times
- Cy Young Awards: 0
Those numbers look awfully similar to me, but if you dig deep into the stats at Baseball-Reference.com and compare Sabathia and Schilling in playoff games, Schilling is the dominant pitcher there.
- Playoff Starts: Sabathia 23 Schilling 19
- Playoff Record: Sabathia 10-7 Schilling 11-2
- Playoff ERA: Sabathia 4.28 Schilling 2.23
- World Series Record: Sabathia 0-1 Schilling 3-1
Oh, by the way, Curt Schilling was also voted as the World Series MVP in 2001 with the D-Backs. Remember, nothing here is intended to suggest that CC Sabathia should not be in the Hall of Fame or that he somehow sneaked in through a side exit. But Curt Schilling has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since 2012. In 2021, Schilling received 71% of the vote and was only 16 votes shy of the necessary 75% to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
I think it is clear that Schilling never made it to the Hall of Fame – – he is off the ballot after 10 consecutive years of failure to be elected – – for off-field reasons. The numbers above say that on-field events would have both pitchers enshrined in Cooperstown. But Curt Schilling was very vocal and very provocative with his social media postings and with his embracement of far out conspiracy theories to the point that many thought of him as an extremist.
I have often argued that unless the off field ”stuff” falls into two categories, it should be ignored; it is the performance on the field that should be determinant unless:
- The off-field behavior is felonious and there is police/prosecutor involvement.
- The off-field behavior involves performance enhancing substances that contributed improperly to the on-field stats.
I am not a conspiracy theorist; I bear no animus toward anyone based on their religion or skin color. On those dimensions, Curt Schilling and I are far apart in the way we appear to view the world. And yet, if I had had a vote for induction into the Hall of Fame, I would have voted in favor of Curt Schilling simply because as a baseball pitcher, he belongs there.
Moving on … Yesterday when commenting on Gilbert Arenas’ arrest involving “illegal poker games”, I said that there would be more to the story. Well yesterday afternoon, it was revealed that another person charged in this illegal poker venue is Giora Gershman who is identified in various reports as “part of an Israeli organized crime group”. And less than ten minutes after I read that tidbit, I got a phone call from a friend reminding me of another incident involving card games and Gilbert Arenas.
- In 2009, Arenas and Javaris Crittendon were teammates on the Washington Wizards. A dispute over debts incurred in card games among the team’s players arose and things escalated from trash-talking to direct threats.
- Arenas brought two unleaded guns into the Wizards’ locker room and left them proximally to Crittendon’s locker.
- Then, Crittendon raised the bet and brought a loaded gun into the locker room creating a “tense situation”.
- NBA Commissioner at the time, David Stern, suspended both players for the rest of that regular season. Crittendon never really came back from the suspension; the Wizards traded Arenas to the Magic.
That incident had faded into the recesses of my memory until that phone call yesterday.
I continue to believe that this story has legs and will be back in the headlines before it is resolved.
Finally, this observation by Leo Rosten:
“Extremists think ‘communication’ means agreeing with them.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………