Edgar Martinez Gets Just 36.5 Percent of Hall of Fame Vote

It was another rough outing for Edgar Martinez, who finished yesterday with a meager 36.5 percent of Hall of Fame votes. The good news, though, is that the Seattle Mariner's most prolific DH did slightly better than last year when he scored just 32.9 percent of the vote. To get into baseball's most hallowed shrine, a player needs 75 percent from the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was inducted with 86 percent after falling short the two previous times he was on the ballot. He and Spokane native, the late Ron Santo, who was inducted into Cooperstown last month by the Veterans Committee, will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame on July 22.

Seattle Times baseball writer Larry Stone spoke by phone yesterday with Martinez. "It's better than last year," Martinez said. "I moved up a little bit. That's basically what I wanted to see. I wanted to see a bigger percentage, but it's positive I moved up a little bit and not the other way around."

Martinez, long known to fans as Mr. Mariner, has been on the ballot three times, giving him 12 more years to get the needed 75 percent.

Next year's crop of big names coming to the ballot include Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens and Curt Shilling.

Asked by Stone -- who figures Martinez has been asked "a few million times" -- whether spending his carrer mainly as a DH hurts his chances, Martinez replied, "I don't know what to think because of the DH issue. If I played third base or first base in my career, I'd say I have a good hope of eventually getting in. But there's so much argument about DH I don't know what to think."

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