Ballots were due three weeks ago, but President Trump made his latest campaign stump for longtime supporter Curt Schilling on Sunday night nonetheless.
“Curt Schilling deserves to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Trump tweeted. “Great record, especially when under pressure and when it mattered most. Do what everyone in Baseball knows is right!”
The Hall of Fame results will be announced Tuesday night, but as of Monday morning, Schilling had been voted for by 71.6 percent of the 49.5 percent of ballots known, according to Ryan Thibodaux, who tracks the votes annually. Players need to collect 75 percent of the vote to get into the Hall.
Schilling’s career stats certainly make an interesting case. Across 20 seasons, he was 216-146 while posting 3,116 strikeouts, a 3.46 ERA, 1.137 WHIP, 4.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 80.6 WAR. In the playoffs, he was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA, 0.968 WHIP and four complete games, being named the NLCS MVP in 1993 and World Series MVP in 2001.
But the former Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox pitcher also once advocated for the lynching of journalists after he retired, which has likely cost him some votes in recent years. He is in his seventh year on the ballot.