Ken Griffey, Jr. Becomes Highest Vote-Getter In Hall Of Fame History

It took nearly 40 years, but the Seattle Mariners baseball club can now claim its first Hall of Famer.

Ken Griffey, Jr., known as "The Kid" when he broke in to the big leagues with the Mariners franchise as a 19 year old in 1989, was voted in by 99.3% of the 440 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America surpassing the previous record of 98.84 percent held by pitcher Tom Seaver.  Just three voters left Griffey off of their ballot.

Joining Griffey in this July's induction ceremony in Cooperstown, NY will be catcher Mike Piazza.

Griffey's longtime teammate and namesake of the Designated Hitter of the Year Award Edgar Martinez failed to receive the required 75% of the vote, however his vote total dramatically increased to 43.4% from just 25 last year - his seventh on the ballot.

Griffey also becomes the first ever #1 overall pick in baseball's amateur draft to be elected to get the game's highest honor.