There's still next year: Edgar Martinez misses Hall of Fame cut again

SEATTLE - The Baseball Writers Association of American once again snubbed Seattle Mariners legend Edgar Martinez.

Martinez needed 75 percent of the votes to be elected into the Hall of Fame, but finished with 70.4 percent. He was 22 votes short.

Martinez has been on the ballot for the past nine years. Next year will be the last time he'll be eligible to be voted in by the Baseball Writers Association of America. If he doesn't get it, the Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee will need to take up his case.

Martinez played for the Mariners his entire career and is widely considered the best right-handed hitter of his generation. If history is any indication, he'll make it next year Players typically receive a big bump in their final year: Gil Hodges has the highest vote total of anybody who never made the Hall, coming up 44 votes short.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will be announced at 3 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2018, televised on MLB Network.