I’m not writing this to re-hash a bunch of numbers; go on Twitter in the days and weeks leading up to the Hall of Fame announcement and you’ll be able to find all you can handle.  Edgar was great.  We all know this, so I’m not trying to sway anyone with my argument here.  I’m just writing this to bitch.  Because it’s fucking ridiculous that we’ve had 9 Hall of Fame votes and Edgar Martinez still isn’t in.

For starters, it’s stupid how this thing works.  Why are we relying on baseball writers to make this determination?  Even if most of them are beat writers, how many times would they have seen someone like Edgar?  A handful of times a year?  I swear to Christ, if he played for the Yankees or Red Sox, he would’ve been inducted YEARS ago.  There are plenty of numbers you can pull out that puts Edgar up there with the all-time greats, but unfortunately there are too many people out there who see less than 500 home runs and less than 3,000 hits, and they automatically cast him out.  Which is, obviously, patently absurd.  But, I would argue that beyond the numbers, the eye test really comes into play when you consider the resume of Edgar.

You have to see him to believe him.  His presence at the plate.  His patience.  His discipline.  His careful eye.  His ability to spray it to all fields.  And, quite frankly, his performance in the clutch.  To watch Edgar Martinez hit a baseball is to watch one of the best to ever do it from the right side of the plate, period.  And, when you factor in how the organization waited at least two years too long to bring him up to the Majors, and another two years too long to give him an everyday role, I would argue he’d be much closer to those arbitrary benchmarks of 500 homers and 3,000 hits.

Also, it’s just dumb that it takes so long for these people to make the right decision.  I guess you could argue the 10-year window helps a guy like Edgar – a guy not a lot of national people really paid much attention to – so it gives them time to hear all the passionate arguments from smart baseball people who know their asses from a hole in the ground.  It just seems to me that if a guy is a Hall of Famer in year 10, he should be a Hall of Famer in year 1.  And make no mistake, Edgar Martinez is a year 1 Hall of Famer.

From 2010-2015, Edgar hovered in the 25%-37% range, and we all wondered if it was ever going to happen.  The minority was fighting the good fight, but it wasn’t until 2016 when we started to see dividends paid.  That’s when he hit 43.4%, and there was a glimmer of hope.  Last year, he made an even bigger jump, to 58.6%, and there was reason to rejoice.  In the early voting this year, we thought he maybe had a chance to crack the 75% barrier, but he came up just short, at 70.4%.  20 votes shy of making it.

Getting up over 70% in the voting is a very good sign for 2019, from what I’m told.  I guess everyone in the last decade who’s reached this point has gotten in?  But, I dunno.  I guess I’ll believe it when I see it.  Baseball writers can be fucking cunts, man.  Old, stodgy, stuck-in-their-ways, miserable cunts.  I mean, there are still baseball writers who think the Designated Hitter doesn’t belong in the game!  Let alone in the Hall of Fame.  Relievers have a hard time, even though they’ve been a huge part of the game since I’ve been alive.  I mean, this is baseball!  This is supposedly the game you love!  The game you’ve devoted your entire professional lives to!  Well, like it or lump it, DH’s are a big part of this game, and Edgar Martinez was the motherfucking best.

Do the right thing, baseball writers.  Don’t leave it up to the Veteran’s Committee.  Edgar deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and you fucking know it!

And quit voting for stupid assholes who have no shot whatsoever, like Carlos Lee or Livan Hernandez!  A VOTE FOR NADER IS A VOTE FOR BUSH YOU TWATS!