With or without Curt Schilling, the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot figures to produce plenty of debate

Dan Haren did not receive a vote when Tuesday’s Baseball Hall of Fame results were released.

The former pitcher turned the page with a joke after failing to reach the 5% threshold necessary to remain on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

“They will tell me I’m taken off the ballot next year, but I’d first like to announce that I’m REMOVING MYSELF from next years ballot and any going forward,” Haren joked on Twitter.

The tweet came a few minutes after Curt Schilling’s lengthy online post in which the former pitcher said he wrote to the Hall of Fame, requesting to be taken off next year’s ballot.

Schilling fell 16 votes shy of the 75% needed to be elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday. He has one more year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot and could land in an Eras Committee discussion in the future.

“I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” Schilling wrote in the post. “I don’t think I’m a hall of famer as I’ve often stated but if former players think I am then I’ll accept that with honor.”

The Hall of Fame responded with a statement that read, in part, “The Board has received Curt Schilling’s request for removal from the 2022 ballot, and will consider the request at our next meeting.”

In a statement released Wednesday morning, the BBWAA argued that Schilling’s request is a violation of the Hall’s Board of Director rules.

“The Hall of Fame assigned the BBWAA to be the electorate in 1936,” the statement closes. “This association has abided by the rules for 85 years and shall continue to do so. The BBWAA urges the board to reject Mr. Schilling’s request.”

Time will tell what happens with Schilling, whose social media posts — a tweet supporting the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol rioters the most recent example — have dominated any post-playing-days conversation.

With or without Schilling, there will be plenty to debate on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot. Here are some other names to watch.

Barry Bonds/Roger Clemens

Barry Bonds has more MVP awards (seven) than anyone in the game’s history. Roger Clemens has the most Cy Young Awards (seven). But suspicions about performance-enhancing drug use turned their Hall of Fame chances from locks to long shots. Bonds received 61.8% of this year’s votes, while Clemens received 61.6%.

Ditto with Sammy Sosa. He and Mark McGwire were the talk of baseball during their epic 1998 home run race. McGwire never got higher than 23.7% during his 10 years on the BBWAA ballot, which ended with 12.3% in 2016. Sosa received 17% this year, his best showing to date.

Bonds, Clemens and Sosa will be in their final year of eligibility for the BBWAA ballot in 2022. It would take an epic last-inning rally.

Scott Rolen

There are 17 third basemen in the Hall of Fame, the fewest of any position. Scott Rolen could be on his way to joining the group at some point down the line.

The seven-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner went from 35.3% of the votes last year to 52.9% in his fourth year on the ballot.

Most of the returning players on the ballot saw their percentages increase this year. Billy Wagner (46.4%), Todd Helton (44.9%), Gary Sheffield (40.6%) and Andruw Jones (33.9%) had double-digit gains.

Omar Vizquel, accused of domestic abuse in a December story in The Athletic, was the only player to see a decline, slipping from 52.6% last year to 49.1%.

Mark Buehrle

Left-hander Mark Buehrle, who spent 12 seasons with the White Sox, was one of three first-year candidates to exceed the 5% threshold to remain on the ballot.

Buehrle finished at 11% with 44 votes. Outfielder Torii Hunter received 9.5% of the votes and pitcher Tim Hudson finished at 5.2%.

Buehrle was known for his quick-paced games, but his candidacy will benefit from voters having a chance to slow down and take a longer look at his career.

Alex Rodriguez/David Ortiz

If you thought the PED discussion was going to die down soon, think again.

Alex Rodriguez will be the headline name among the newcomers in 2022. He is fourth on the all-time home run list with 696. But he also served a season-long suspension in 2014 for violations of the drug program. His candidacy, like those of Bonds and Clemens since 2013, will be debated for years to come.

David Ortiz is another former star poised to join the ballot. He hit 541 home runs and had several clutch moments for the Boston Red Sox, but the New York Times reported in 2009 that Ortiz was among 104 players listed as testing positive for PEDs as part of an MLB survey in 2003.

MLB Network listed Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Tim Lincecum, Prince Fielder, Jake Peavy and Mark Teixeira among the other potential first-time candidates.