Mariners fans can't believe how a Hall of Fame voter snubbed Félix Hernández

Aside from the ordered chaos of the offseason, one of the most important baseball events of the winter is the annual induction of new members into the Hall of Fame. Later on Tuesday, the Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce which members of the current ballot will join Jeff Kent in this year's class.

The Mariners have no shortage of franchise legends in Cooperstown — Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martínez, and most recently Ichiro Suzuki all have their own plaques in the Hall of Fame. Suzuki nearly became the second player to be unanimously inducted, but the issue that barred him from the accomplishment may be the same one that prevents Félix Hernández from achieving baseball immortality.

One voter publicly snubbed Félix Hernández in favor of Rick Porcello purely due to his New Jersey roots

The voting process for the Hall of Fame is surprisingly complex. A player must clear several levels of screening before it even comes down to the voters, who are hundreds of baseball writers around the country. Each voter can select up to 10 players to be inducted, and individuals who receive at least 75 percent of the vote are inducted. However, there is no requirement for voters to disclose who they did (or didn't) vote for nor do they have an obligation to explain their thought process. This can lead to some confusing results.

A recent example is Steve Politi, a columnist at NJ.com, who took it upon himself to share his ballot for this year's vote. The gesture of transparency was appreciated but the decision to vote for Rick Porcello over Félix Hernández was definitely one that drew ire. His reasoning was as follows:

"This no doubt will lead to some social media vitriol, but when you’re the sports columnist for a New Jersey website, every now and then, you get to salute one of your people. Porcello, a former Seton Hall Prep ace, is likely going to drop from consideration after one year. I had room on my ballot, and so I’m tipping my cap to the Jersey guy on a tremendous career. "

Steve Politi

Porcello and Hernández were both starting pitchers, so it's easy to compare and contrast their careers and see just how much better Hernández was in every major statistical category.

It's admittedly just one vote but if early voting data is to be believed, Félix's induction could be decided by a few votes. Fortunately, he'll have more than enough support to remain on the ballot for another year, whereas Porcello will struggle to surpass the five percent threshold required to stay. Because of Porcello's weak statistical profile, it's reasonable to say that Politi extended a courtesy vote while he still could and plans to vote for Hernández in subsequent years.

The legacy of King Félix in Seattle has already been cemented. There's nothing more he could've done for a city that had his back in every way (except when it came to providing run support) but it's the national media that he must now convince. He's hardly the first player who has been forced to wait due to the subjectivity and irrationality of the voting process but unlike other legends like Johan Santana and Lou Whitaker, he'll get yet another chance next year.