Photo Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Curt Schilling is an idiot, but is he a Hall of Fame idiot? The man himself certainly thinks so, though the voters disagreed. Schilling received 215 votes in his third year on the ballot, good enough for 39.2%. It was his highest showing so far, but a long way from the 75% needed to be enshrined in the Hall.

There could be many reasons for this: Schilling’s low-ish win total, his lack of Cy Young Awards, and his attitude (it shouldn’t matter, but it does). But Schilling thinks he knows why he didn’t make it this year but John Smoltz did: Schilling is a persecuted Republican. He told WEEI’s Jerry Spar:

“I think he got in because of [Greg] Maddux and [Tom] Glavine. I think the fact that they won 14 straight pennants. I think his ‘Swiss army knife versatility,’ which somebody said yesterday, I think he got a lot of accolades for that, I think he got a lot of recognition for that. He’s a Hall of Famer. And I think the other big thing is that I think he’s a Democrat and so I know that, as a Republican, that there’s some people that really don’t like that.”

But don’t be worried, Schill, your vote total this year was the highest it’s ever been, and maybe the stance of those voters who didn’t pick you to be enshrined this year will evolve … oh … never mind.