No Hall of Fame Nod This Year for Edgar Martinez

For the first time in four decades, no players were elected to the baseball shrine in Cooperstown, New York.

As Mariners fans waited for Edgar Martinez to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame, it is not happening this year. No players were elected Wednesday in balloting by the Baseball Writers of America. Players have to receive 75% of the ballots cast. The player receiving the most votes, Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros, only received 388 votes, 39 shy of the 427 needed for election. That is a total of 68.2 %.

Edgar knows it will be a slow process. He told the Seattle Times Larry Stone:

"I don't obsess about it, because I know there's a good chance I'm not going to get in any time soon,'' he said. "I'm not worried about what's going on with the ballot. I don't think about this. It doesn't change anything in my life, to be quite honest. It's true the more players who are All-Star players and great players over the years, it's more difficult to get the votes from the writers. We'll see, but it's going to be more difficult."

 

Martinez received 204 votes, about 35%, which has held pretty steady each year in the voting for him since he became Hall of Fame eligible.

Former Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson becomes eligible for next year's vote.

Get the story on this year's Hall of Fame Voting here.