The wait is over: Mariners icon Edgar Martinez receives Hall call

It took a decade to get there, but Edgar Martinez is headed to Cooperstown.

The legendary designated hitter beloved by Mariners fans was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, after receiving enough votes in his final year of contention. 

Martinez earned 85.4 percent of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, topping the 75 percent threshold needed for induction. He will become the second Hall of Famer to be immortalized on a plaque wearing a Mariners cap, following the induction of Ken Griffey Jr. in the 2016 class.

Martinez expressed gratitude to his adoring fans on Twitter following the announcement.

“Thank you to the Mariners and all the fans who have supported me through my career and HOF candidacy for the last ten years,” he wrote. “I’m humbled by the overwhelming support and feel so blessed.”

Martinez joined closer Mariano Rivera — who received an unprecedented 100 percent of the votes — as well as pitchers Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina in the 2019 Hall of Fame class. Halladay, who died in a plane crash in November 2017, earned the same number of votes as Martinez. Mussina garnered 76.7 percent. 

In a video tweeted by the Seattle Mariners, Jack O’Connell of the BBWAA called to congratulate Martinez on what’s been a long-time coming.

“I know you’ve been waiting a long time. Some of us voted for you 10 times,” O’Connell quipped. “Very happy for you Edgar, I really am.”

Seattle baseball fans, fellow athletes and professional sports teams flooded social media with congratulatory messages following the announcement.

Seattle is poised to celebrate for the weeks and months to come, leading up to the July ceremony in New York.