Curt Schilling on his HOF chances, politics and more

Baseball legend Curt Schilling joined Breitbart News Daily to talk to Stephen K. Bannon about his career, politics and more.

The 49-year-old is known to be outspoken on a myriad of topics, and some believe his blunt approach is part of the reason why he has yet to receive an election into the Baseball Hall of Fame. When asked if he would’ve traded some of his playing ability to be able to be even more vocal, Schilling had this to say:

“One thing I was told early in my career is, when you walk out onto the field the name on the back of your jersey is not yours, it’s your dad’s. I’ve carried that with me forever. I’ve worked harder and learned more about my father since he passed than I did when he was alive because when he was alive I was young and I knew everything. Now I’m a father of four and a husband and I’ve gone through the adversity I’ve gone through, and he is the reason I’m still standing. … My father was the guy that helped instill in me the things that mattered. The one thing I try to tell people is don’t ever live your life to make people who will never meet you think good of you. My family, my friends, the people who know me know what kind of person I am. No one should have to act or speak or be a certain way for other people to approve. But that’s the world we live in.”

Schilling seems to have no regrets about anything he’s done or said during or after his playing career. But does he have the numbers worthy of a hall of fame induction? His 216 wins are not staggering by any means. He is part of the 3,000-strikeouts club, he was named World Series co-MVP in 2001 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and who could ever forget his iconic “bloody sock” start in the 2004 ALCS with the Boston Red Sox? But only 16 hall-of-fame starting pitchers have fewer than Schilling’s 216 wins, whereas 44 inductees have more. Of course, the question of whether he deserves to be in the Hall lies solely with the voters.

Schilling also took some time to touch on today’s political landscape.

“I think the political system is counting on the dumbing-down of the American people to make it go a certain way, and that to me is the opposite of what we want to do,” he said. “We want to be informed, we want to make educated votes. Whether you agree with me or not, whether you’re Democrat or conservative or independent, if you’re going to pull a lever and cast a ballot for somebody, please have an idea and a reason why.”

Schilling grew up in a military household and discussed whether he feels Americans have forgotten the true concept of victory.

“Absolutely,” Schilling said. “I think because the definition of victory from a military-perspective has changed. It’s not about conquering a nation of people trying to overrun the world and having the people in that nation rebuild themselves. When you’re battling an ideology as opposed to an enemy, this is very much like Vietnam in the sense that you’re battling an enemy that has no uniform. And when an eight-year-old child is potentially as lethal and dangerous as a 25-year-old militant, that doesn’t fit the profile of how we train our soldiers. You’re taught to kill the enemy combatant, but when you don’t know who that is, it can create some extremely difficult circumstances.”

Listen to the full interview below: