Puerto Ricans are ready for Seattle Mariners legend Edgar Martinez to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"This guy is the most beloved player, right next to the great Roberto Clemente," Rey Delgado, a former teammate of Martinez, told KING 5 just hours before the Hall of Fame announcement on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Delgado says that Edgar Martinez has changed the lives of many people in Puerto Rico. He's also changed the game for many players.
"We've waited for this moment ... This guy is so loved in my country," Delgado said.
Martinez, in his 10th and final year on the Hall of Fame ballot, needs to have his name chosen on 75 percent of the ballots that are cast. According to Ryan Thibodaux, a noted tracker of Hall of Fame balloting, Martinez appears on 205 of the 227 public ballots, or 90.3 percent, turned in by Tuesday morning.
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. In 2018 he missed being elected into the Hall of Fame by 20 votes.
Delgado says Puerto Ricans are "praying" for Martinez' selection.