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Big Edgar Martinez fan Steven Souza Jr. ribbed a Rays writer for leaving Martinez off his HOF ballot

(Chris O'Meara)

Would you vote in favor of electing Edgar Martinez to the Baseball Hall of Fame? The vaunted Mariners slugger (who resides atop the franchise leaderboard in many offensive categories) and current hitting coach is up for possible election, and baseball scribes have some important decisions to make.
Rays outfielder Steven Souza Jr. hails from Everett, Wash., just 25 miles outside Seattle. He grew up a Mariners fan, and was enthralled (as we all were) watching Edgar swing the bat in the middle of the Mariners lineup for years.
So when Tampa Bay Times reporter Marc Topkin revealed his HOF ballot on Tuesday, a name was missing:

Souza promptly took him to task for it with a good-natured ribbing on Twitter:

Souza then backed up his support of Martinez's spot in Cooperstown with some facts: 

Topkin, to his credit, had fun with it as well:

Safe to say Souza hasn't lost any of his affinity for Martinez over the years, even though he suits up for an opposing AL club.
Baseball passion: it runs deep. 

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