Hall Of Fame Vote 2017: Edgar Martinez Passes 70 Percent Mark From Public Votes
The 2017 Hall of Fame vote is looking even better for Edgar Martinez. In the latest tally of public votes, Martinez has eclipsed the 70 percent threshold. He continues to find more support among Hall of Fame voters than in the past, suggesting a very likely conclusion of Martinez winding up in Cooperstown. A report by baseball analyst Ryan Thibodaux provides an updated look on the latest Hall of Fame votes, revealing a lot of the ballots that have been made public by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
147 ballots have been revealed so far, with Edgar Martinez appearing on 108 of them. That works out to 70.6 percent, predicting the highest support that Martinez has received during his eight years on the ballot. 75 percent is needed to earn induction into Cooperstown, so Martinez still needs to pick up a few votes, but the increased support could mean he joins Ken Griffey Jr. very soon.
In the updated Hall of Fame voting totals, four players could have enough support to join the 2017 class. They are Jeff Bagwell (93.5 percent), Tim Raines (90.8 percent), Ivan Rodriguez (85.0 percent), and Vlad Guerrero (77.1 percent). This is the first time that Rodriguez and Guerrero have appeared on the ballot, revealing that both players have a lot of support among the BBWAA members. Could they both be elected during their first year of eligibility?
Other players who are seeing a lot of support in the 2017 Hall of Fame vote include Trevor Hoffman (71.9 percent), Roger Clemens (69.9 percent), Barry Bonds (69.9 percent), and Mike Mussina (62.7 percent). Ryan Thibodaux also calculates which players are receiving the most “new” votes each year. Edgar Martinez has gained 27 votes from returning voters, Tim Raines has gained 22 voters, and Roger Clemens has gained 21 voters.
One BBWAA member took his vote away from Edgar Martinez, as Jay Dunn decided to take him off his current ballot. Dunn decided to support Jorge Posada in that slot, making him one of three first-time guys that received that support. It’s possible that Dunn could vote for Martinez again on the 2018 Hall of Fame ballot, as he won’t be voting for Lee Smith, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, or Ivan Rodriguez next year. Those four players will be taken off the ballot through either induction or expending their candidacy time.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Edgar Martinez spent his entire 18-year career in Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners. During that time, he became one of just 10 players in MLB history to have at least 300 home runs, 500 doubles, 1000 walks, a 0.300 batting average, and an on-base percentage of 0.400 or better. Those numbers rank him among the best hitters to ever play the game and now the members of the BBWAA are starting to really take notice.
There are still a lot of outstanding Hall of Fame votes that haven’t been counted yet. Ryan Thibodaux estimates that there are going to be 435 ballots cast in this particular vote, dictating that the percentages could still shift quite a bit. The 147 public ballots only work out to roughly 35.2 percent of the final tally, so it’s possible that Martinez could see his numbers dip. It’s also possible they could go up, but the anonymous votes haven’t worked in his favor during past counts.
The highest percentage of the vote that Edgar Martinez has received in the past was 43.4 percent on the 2016 BBWAA ballot. It was a nice bump from 27 percent the previous season, which continues a trend of baseball writers recognizing what Martinez was able to achieve at the plate. It now appears that the 2017 Hall of Fame vote will be the best showing yet for Martinez when the final results are revealed on January 18.
[Featured Image by Otto Greule/Getty Images]
