.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Seeing Edgar Martinez In The Hall of Fame Will Be Worth The Wait
Edgar is trending in the right direction as the 2017 Hall of Fame election draws nearer, but will he get in by the time his 10th year is up?
When I was about 7 years old, there wasn’t anything I wanted more for Christmas than a Gamecube.
As far as I was concerned, the Nintendo Gamecube was the only thing to have then, and all my friends who were anyone already had one.
The days leading up to Christmas, I could only hope I would be fortunate enough to get what I felt I deserved. In my opinion, I had been a good enough boy all year to entitle me to such an awesome gift.
Then the day finally came… no Gamecube. I was pretty disappointed. I had to wait about 6 months until I got one for my birthday, and by then I had no problem with having to wait it out. In
I was pretty disappointed. I had to wait about 6 months until I got one for my birthday, and by then I had no problem with having to wait for it. In fact, it made it more special.
For us Mariners fans, we have been waiting since Edgar Martinez retired in 2004 to get our Gamecube and see him get voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
After watching Edgar hit alongside Junior for years, we have all made up our minds. He is a hall of famer for sure. Yet why do so many voting writers disagree?
Because he’s a DH?
You all vote for closers, how is the DH role any different compared to a player that only pitches 60 innings a season? And we all know you guys are going to vote for David Ortiz in five years.
Because his numbers aren’t good enough?
Wrong again, Martinez is one of the most deserving players on the ballot this year and is one of the few to never be associated with steroid use.
More from SoDo Mojo
With a career slash of .312/.418/.515 and 514 career doubles, that is Hall of Fame worthy on its own.
He also won the American League batting title twice with five Silver Slugger awards and seven appearances in the All-Star Game.
In addition to all that, the Designated Hitter award is called the Edgar Martinez award for crying out loud. He was the best at his position, yes the DH is a legitimate position, throughout the 1990s and arguably the best right-handed hitter in that time as well–put the man in the Hall of Fame!
Now in his 8th year of eligibility, with only two more years left on the ballot, his numbers are beginning to trend upward.
According to @NotMrTibbs, the unofficial Baseball Hall of Fame ballot tracker, with 95 ballots made public so far, Edgar Martinez has currently been named on 67 percent of them.
@ 95 ballots:
Bagwell 92%
Raines 91%
Pudge 85%
Hoffman 76%
Vlad 74%
BB/RC 73%
Edgar 67%
Mussina 60%
Schilling 52%https://t.co/PQK7gmI3NQ— Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs) December 23, 2016
Although Edgar is sitting pretty at 67 percent right now, that number will likely drop once all ballots have been counted according to this projection.
My updated Hall of Fame predictions based on the 78 ballots collected in @NotMrTibbs tracker. pic.twitter.com/vW0Yvm5GdB
— Ross Carey (@Rosscarey) December 21, 2016
After garnering 43.4 percent of the vote last year, which had been an increase from the year before, this trend is certainly a sight for sore eyes. We’ve been waiting 7 years for Edgar to get some recognition, and now he finally seems to be getting some.
We can only hope he gains more votes over the next couple years to eventually get in on his 10th and final year on the ballot. At the current rate he’s on, it seems very possible.
This year he should see a final vote count over 55 percent, and if he reaches 65 percent next year, a boost in his 10th year on the ballot could put him over the 75 percent threshold to finally see our beloved Edgar Martinez enter the prestigious Baseball Hall of Fame where we all know he deserves to be.
