Curt Schilling Congratulates David Ortiz On Twitter, Before Ranting About BBWAA During A Live Stream
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Ortiz got into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, the only member of the class of 2022. That means Curt Schilling did not get the call in his final year on the writer's ballot, which just about everyone expected if you've been following Schilling's post-baseball career.
Shortly after Ortiz became a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Schilling sent out a Tweet congratulating his former Boston teammate, asking people to focus on who did get in instead of those who did not.
"[David Ortiz] deserved a 1st ballot induction! Congratulations my friend you earned it," Schilling tweeted.
Always a polarizing figure, Schilling kept the focus on Ortiz with his tweet. He did, however, air some grievances with baseball writers during a lengthy Twitter video session Tuesday night. While he was building something for his train/model room -- and playing with his ferrets -- Schilling had a few things to say about the BBWAA, and sounds happy that his induction into Cooperstown is now in the hands of the Hall of Fame's other committees.
"The way I look at it, if I get to the Hall of Fame it will be without any of them," he said of the baseball writers. "They will have no say whatsoever if I get in, which means I'll get in as the person I've always been, for better or worse."
Schilling was just 16 votes shy of enshrinement in 2021, but then asked to be removed from the BBWAA ballot. That wish was not granted, and Schilling was 65 votes short in his final year of eligibility.
"The only bothersome thing for me is the media created someone who doesn't exist," Schilling added. "But you can do that when power goes unchecked. Hopefully that will change."
Schilling is never afraid to play the victim card, though it's his own beliefs and social media antics that have caused all the controversy. He also made it clear that he is done with the Boston Red Sox as long as the current ownership group is in place.
"I wouldn't do anything for them as long as those two horrible human beings are on the team," he said of John Henry and Tom Werner. "Which sucks because the fans everywhere I ever played were absolutely amazing."
Schilling did say that if he does eventually get into the Hall of Fame, that he'd go in as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
