THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, January 9, 2016

If you needed more proof of how messed up the voting process goes for the Baseball Hall of Fame, leave it to a sports writer.

No, not me for a change, but the three writers that left Ken Griffey Jr. off their ballot for induction in the former Seattle Mariner center fielder’s first try for induction to the Hall of Fame.

NOW, FOR the most part, I understand that nobody has ever been unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame, ever.

Not Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, or any other legend that is on the walls of Cooperstown.

Griffey will be the first Mariner player to be inducted into the hall later this summer, and should be. Randy Johnson, who pitched in Seattle for years, was inducted last year as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dave Niehaus was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award in 2008.

Forget the home runs, all the gold gloves and spectacular catches that he had. The man saved baseball in Seattle, scoring the winning run in the American League Division Playoffs in 1995. At that time, it was not certain that the Mariners were going to even stay in town.

Now, they’re cemented in Seattle, with one of the best stadiums in the majors, and a team that’s still trying to find a way to recapture that magic from 21 years ago.

For as much anger as fans had when he wanted out of Seattle to move on to Cincinnati, then the Chicago White Sox, you’d never known that by the ovation he received upon returning to Safeco Field when he opted to come back to Seattle in 2009. Fans will even forget the way that things ended, with him retiring midway through the 2010 season with nothing else to give, or prove, to anyone.

Playing 22 years for three teams, hitting 630 home runs with 2,781 hits and 1,836 runs batted in — all with no rumors of him using performance enhancing drugs — not a bad career at all.

Some might say a no-brainer as a Hall of Famer.

But apparently not enough of one to be a unanimous selection.

WITH THE excitement surrounding Griffey, it also means that it will be another year without the addition of longtime Mariner designated hitter Edgar Martinez into the Hall.

At least this year, his percentage of votes went up from 27 to 43 percent, so there’s a chance that eventually, he’ll get called to Cooperstown as well.

It’s tough to judge Martinez and his Hall of Fame chances though, as he didn’t play the field that much in the later parts of his career.

But if other designated hitters such as David Ortiz, then why not Edgar?

Granted Ortiz has a ton of power numbers and three World Series titles, with Edgar just hitting well for average and driving in 1,261 runs.

As the years go by and Edgar continues to come up short in his bid, it really feels as if he’ll just remain a great player in the Northwest, but not considered that in the rest of baseball.

You never know what will happen, and maybe someday he’ll find his way there.

Hopefully he’ll still be able to enjoy it.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.