Column: Baseball is all about numbers so is Hall of Fame
Edgar Martinez
Consider the case of Edgar Martinez  who baseball writers for years treated as a marginal candidate for induction. The fact he was a DH most of his career worked against him  as did his relative lack of home runs and playing most of his career in relative obscurity in Seattle.
But  Martinez  surged in voting the last two years  propelled by supporters that used WAR and OPS to make  his  case.  He  received 70.4 percent of the latest vote  falling just 20 votes shy of joining Jones  Thome  Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman in this year's class.
"We are trending up "  Martinez  tweeted. "Next year may be the year."
But is the fact that  Martinez  is tied for 32nd in history for OPS enough to get  him  in the Hall of Fame? Or is it more important to have the kind of impact DiMaggio had on a Yankees team that won a staggering nine World Series titles in his 13 years in pinstripes?
 Martinez  may indeed make it on  his  10th and final year of eligibility. Next year's newcomers won't crowd ballots too much  with Mariano Rivera looking to be the only first-ballot pick. There's a good chance both  Martinez  and Mussina pick up votes.
Consider the case of [TGT]. The fact he was a DH most of his career worked against him  as did his relative lack of home runs and playing most of his career in relative obscurity in Seattle.
But  [TGT]surged in voting the last two years  propelled by supporters that used WAR and OPS to make  his  case.  He  received 70.4 percent of the latest vote  falling just 20 votes shy of joining Jones  Thome  Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman in this year's class.
"We are trending up "  Martinez  tweeted. "Next year may be the year."
But is the fact that  [TGT]is tied for 32nd in history for OPS enough to get  [TGT]  in the Hall of Fame? Or is it more important to have the kind of impact DiMaggio had on a Yankees team that won a staggering nine World Series titles in his 13 years in pinstripes?
 [TGT]may indeed make it on  [TGT]  10th and final year of eligibility. Next year's newcomers won't crowd ballots too much  with Mariano Rivera looking to be the only first-ballot pick. There's a good chance both  [TGT]and Mussina pick up votes.