Curt Schilling doesn’t want to go into the Hall of Fame in a Phillies cap

Curt Schilling doesn’t want to go into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Philadelphia Phillie

Curt Schilling may have worn a Philadelphia Phillies uniform longer than any other team’s, but it won’t be the one he chooses to be immortalized in if he is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.

No, if Schilling is elected to the Hall this year – and that’s a big if – he says he wants the cap on his bronze plaque emblazoned with the Arizona Diamondback’s logo.

Speaking on Faith On The Field radio show, Schilling explained his reasoning:

"“…if you take Boston out of the picture, you look at where I probably made the ascension if you believe I’m a Hall of Famer, it was in Arizona. I grew up there … I spent most of my life there … and I think that for two years, what Randy [Johnson] and I were and did has never, ever been equaled in the game. So that was home.It was obviously Philadelphia or Arizona, if Boston is out. I don’t think I was nearly as good in Philadelphia consistently — I was hurt a lot.The fans in Philadelphia were sooo good to me, and so good to my family. I’ll be forever indebted to them. But Arizona just felt like the right thing.”"

After beginning his big-league career with the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros, Schilling spent nine years in Philadelphia. Between 1992-2000, he compiled a 3.35 ERA over 242 regular-season games and 1,659 1/3 innings.

The Phillies traded Schilling to the Diamondbacks during the 2000 season. The expansion team was only in its third season, but it was a homecoming for the pitcher, who grew up in Arizona. The following year, in large part due to the dominance of Schilling and Randy Johnson, the Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series.

Curt Schilling blasts Red Sox ownership: “some very, very bad human beings”

Of course, Schilling also helped the Boston Red Sox make history when the 2004 squad won the franchise’s first World Series in 86 years. They won another in 2007, Schilling’s final season of his career. Presumably, they’d be in the running for this potential Hall of Fame plaque.

But in this same conversation, Schilling blasted the Red Sox ownership group, saying it’s “comprised of some very, very bad human beings.” As such, he has decided that he will never wear a Sox cap in the Hall of Fame.

He also noted that the Diamondbacks, one of MLB’s youngest franchises, has very few Hall of Famers compared to the Phillies, who are one of MLB’s oldest franchises, dating back to the early 1880s.

However, what Schilling wants may very well be a moot point; Hall spokesman Jon Shestakofsky clarified in 2019 that while an inductee may state their team preference for their plaque, the Hall of Fame has the “final say as to which logo, if any, is included.”

Phillies fans will recall that when the late Roy Halladay was inducted in 2019, his plaque bore no team logo. But in 2010, Andre Dawson wanted to go into the Hall as a Chicago Cub, and the Hall put a Montreal Expos cap on his plaque instead. Dawson said the decision was likely due to the fact that he spent 10 years in Montreal, and only six in Chicago. The same logic could apply to Schilling, who spent nine seasons in Philadelphia, and only four in Arizona.

Will Curt Schilling get into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his final year on the ballot?

Of course, Schilling may not get into the Hall in his final year on the ballot. He’s made several unacceptable, bigoted comments over the years, and after he endorsed the January 6th insurrection in DC last year, several BBWAA voters requested to remove him from the ballot.

Schilling then stated that he did not even want to be included on this year’s ballot. That request was denied, but several voters are clearly choosing to honor it in their own way; with approximately 31% of this year’s ballots revealed, he’s already lost 12 votes from those who had checked his box last year. He needs 75% to get into the Hall; on the current public ballots, he’s at 57.9%.

Whether fans agree with factoring who a player was as a person into their candidacy, the Hall of Fame’s voting rules includes a character clause:

"“Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”"

Of course, if he’s sitting at home on Induction Day 2022, he can wear whatever cap he wants.