1. Curt Schilling, 9th year eligible
Twenty-year veteran Curt Schilling appears to be the most likely of these six former Phillies to reach the Hall of Fame in 2021.
Schilling has two years left of eligibility, with 2021 marking his ninth on the Hall of Fame ballot. The former left-hander garnered 70 percent of the baseball writers’ vote in 2020, five points shy of the necessary 75 percent. Derek Jeter (99.7 percent) and Larry Walker (76.6 percent) were the only two who reached the three-quarter mark.
The Alaska native seems poised to become the first former Phillie since Roy Halladay to be forever enshrined in Cooperstown.
Similar to Billy Wagner, Schilling came to the Phillies after a stint with the Houston Astros. From parts of nine seasons with the Phillies, from 1992 to 2000, the right-hander went 101-78 with a 3.35 ERA and 1.120 WHIP across 242 games and 226 starts. Schilling ranks seventh in Phillies history in wins, fifth in WAR for pitchers (36.8), and fifth in strikeouts (1,554), among ranking in other categories.
And, like Scott Rolen, Schilling found postseason success following his playing days in red pinstripes. After falling in the 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays, Schilling would go on to win each of his next three World Series appearances in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as in 2004 and 2007 with the Boston Red Sox.
Schilling was named World Series MVP in 2001, going 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 0.656 WHIP across three starts opposite the potent New York Yankees lineup. Schilling finished his career going 216-146 with a 3.46 ERA, garnering six All-Star nods.