Ken Griffey, Jr. and his father, Ken Sr., offered strong endorsements for Edgar Martinez's inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday.

"Edgar deserves to be in," Griffey Jr. said. "Is it his fault that somebody put him in the DH role? No. He's part of a team, and he did his part. He should be in. Harold Baines should, too. There are a lot of guys with similar numbers who should be there, and Edgar's definitely one of them.

"He carried the team for a period of time. He was one of the most feared hitters in the game for 10-plus years. I root for him. Those decisions aren't up to me. They're up to [the writers]. But do I think he's a Hall of Famer? Yes."

Martinez, a seven-time All-Star, won two batting titles and had a .312 career batting average over parts of 18 seasons in Seattle. His .4178 career on-base percentage is 21st-best in Major League history.