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Former Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez Elected To Baseball Hall of Fame

mlb.com

Seattle baseball fans can rejoice. Longtime Mariner Edgar Martinez has finally been elected to Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. The announcement came this afternoon.

Edgar Martinez, whose name adorns a major boulevard outside Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, has finally been recognized as one of baseball’s greatest players.

In his tenth and final year on the Hall of Fame ballot, Martinez received the support of more than 85% of baseball writers. That’s 10% more than the threshold he needed to get in.

Martinez has long been known as one of the greatest hitters of his generation. But most of his career he played designated hitter, a position that didn’t require him to play defense. That may have kept many writers from voting for him over the years.

But baseball has been undergoing a revolution in how players are judged, and because of that, the opinion about Martinez changed among the writers. Not only was he popular among Mariner fans, but he became more respected around the country.

Last year, Martinez came close to being elected. This year, in his final opportunity, he got the call. He becomes the second player to enter the Hall who will wear a Seattle Mariner cap, joining his former teammate Ken Griffey Junior.