Schilling sees support drop in Hall of Fame voting

PHOENIX -- Former D-backs pitcher Curt Schilling saw his support fall to 45 percent in this year's National Baseball Hall of Fame voting.
To be elected, a player must receive 75 percent of the ballots cast by eligible members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
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This year's inductees include first baseman Jeff Bagwell (86.2 percent), outfielder Tim Raines (86 percent) and catcher Ivan Rodriguez (76 percent). Closer Trevor Hoffman (74 percent) and outfielder Vladimir Guerrero (71.7 percent) fell just short.
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Schilling, meanwhile, was named on 199 of the 442 ballots cast with 332 needed for election.
This was Schilling's fifth year on the ballot. He can remain on the ballot for up to 10 years as long as he gets a minimum of 5 percent of the vote.
In his first year on the ballot, Schilling received 38.8 percent of the vote before falling to 29.2 percent in his second year. But his support jumped in each of the next two years from 39.2 percent to 52.3 percent last year.
Schilling was acquired by the D-backs prior to the non-waiver Trade Deadline in 2000 and remained with them until being dealt to the Red Sox following the '03 season.

While in an Arizona uniform, Schilling went 58-28 with a 3.14 ERA, while teaming with Randy Johnson to form one of the most dominant 1-2 starters in baseball history. In '01 and '02, Schilling finished second to Johnson in the National League Cy Young Award voting and the pair shared MVP honors during the '01 World Series.
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Schilling's 3,116 career strikeouts rank 15th all-time, and that total is greater than 57 of the 71 pitchers already enshrined in Cooperstown.
As good as he was during the regular season, Schilling took his game to another level in the postseason. He had a 2.23 ERA in 19 postseason starts, the third-best figure of the 67 pitchers with at least 10 postseason starts, behind only Christy Mathewson and Waite Hoyt.
Some of the dropoff in support for Schilling could have come as the result of some of Schilling's provocative statements and tweets over the past year. Schilling has been outspoken on political issues, which led to him being dismissed from ESPN.
"If you truly stand for your beliefs there will be pain," Schilling tweeted Wednesday. "I'm good. Rings? Check. Trophies? Check. Memories? Check."