CLEVELAND, Ohio – It's confession time.

I didn't vote for this year's Hall of Fame class that will be enshrined in Cooperstown in July 26. It's the first time I've missed since I became eligible to vote in 1994.

It wasn't a protest over steroid era players or a desire to see the ballot go from 10 to 12 votes per writer. No, it was a screw up on my part. People who know me are really going to be surprised over that one.

Somehow, someway the ballot never got from my mailbox to my eager fingers. Between the curb and my desk, the ballot took a powder. By the time I realized it was really lost, there wasn't time to get a new one.

Deep down, however, I think there was some Freudian thing at work.

Well before the ballots were released, I was wrestling with the idea of voting for Pedro Martinez. As great a pitcher as he was, I thought he was punk on the mound.

I saw him throw at Tribe catcher Einar Diaz during a game at Progressive Field and hide behind hitting coach Jim Rice in the dugout when the benches cleared. Then he ran up the dugout runway.

In Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS between the Yankees and Red Sox, Martinez threw behind Karim Garcia's head and hit him high in the back in the fourth inning. The players yelled at each other with Garcia eventually gaining revenge on a hard, spikes-up slide at second base.

In the bottom of the inning, Roger Clemens of the Yankees retaliated by throwing a pitch high in the strike zone to Manny Ramirez. The pitch wasn't as menacing as Martinez's, but Ramirez screamed at Clemens and the teams sprinted onto the field.

The late Don Zimmer, New York's bench coach, came out of the dugout and charged Martinez, standing a good distance from the melee. Martinez yanked Zimmer, 72 at the time, to the ground.

The next day a tearful Zimmer apologized for his actions. Martinez should have been the one apologizing because he lit the fuse on a game that bordered on a riot.

Since we're having a come to Jesus moment here, I have to say those weren't the only reasons Martinez irritated me. He quite simply dominated the Indians. He was

11-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 16 games against some of the best lineups the Indians have ever fielded.

And that was just the regular season.

In Game 5 of the ALDS in 1999, Martinez relieved with the score tied, 8-8, and pitched six innings without allowing a run or hit. The Red Sox won, 12-8, to win the series after the Indians won the first two games.

I remember watching him shadow boxing in the bullpen before he started throwing his warm up pitches. Joe Frazier's left hook couldn't have saved the Indians that night.

Was Martinez a great pitcher, yes. Would I have voted for him if I had taken proper care of my ballot, yes. Here's why.

In 2009, 10 years after Martinez eliminated the Indians in that postseason game, he was on his last legs. It was spring training and teams were trying to coax him into pitching one more year. I asked Mark Shapiro, Indians general manager at the time, if he was interested in signing Martinez.

Shapiro said that if he could sign Martinez to a one-year deal, he'd do it in a heartbeat. Now, Shapiro watched Martinez beat the Indians year after year just like I did. He'd seen Martinez's whole act.

But when he looked at him, he saw talent. I saw a punk.

Emotion had gotten in my way. It's hard to see clearly like that.

Martinez will enter Cooperstown with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio. Martinez, Johnson and Smoltz were first ballot selections. Craig Biggio made it on his third try.