The National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will be announced Wednesday and 3 p.m., and its coming down to the wire for Seattle Mariners legend Edgar Martinez to get in.
Martinez, in his ninth year on the ballot, needs to have his name chosen on 75 percent of the ballots that are cast when the class is announced.
Ryan Thibodaux, a noted tracker of Hall of Fame balloting, says Martinez is currently appearing on 77.4 percent of the ballots already turned in. That's down from about 81 percent a week ago, but up slightly since Tuesday.
So far, Thibodaux says he has seen 57.3 percent of the estimated ballots cast. Martinez currently appears on 188 ballots, meaning he needs to show up another 130 to be elected.
If Martinez fails to make it in this year, he can appear on the ballot only one more time in 2019.
Until the past couple of years, Martinez's effort to get elected has been hindered by the fact that he spent most of his career as a designated hitter and not playing in the field. But his vote totals picked up in 2016 and 2017.
The award given each year to the American League's top designated hitter is named the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame voting history
2010: 36.2 percent
2011: 32.9 percent
2012: 36.5 percent
2013: 35.9 percent
2014: 25.2 percent
2015: 27.0 percent
2016: 43.4 percent
2017: 58.6 percent
