11 Days of Edgar: The Yankee Killer
Day 1: Seattle Icon
Day 2: Postseason Hero
Day 3: By the Numbers
Few players in Major League Baseball tormented New York Yankees pitchers like Edgar Martinez.
Edgar’s success against the Yankees in the postseason is well-documented, but he was also one of the most prolific regular season hitters all-time vs. New York. In 138 career regular season games vs. the Yankees, Edgar hit .317 with 44 doubles, 1 triple, 22 home runs, 103 RBI, 88 walks, a .423 on-base percentage and a .542 slugging mark.
Among players with at least 500 career plate appearances vs. the Yankees, Edgar ranks 5th all-time in on-base percentage (.423), 9th in OPS (.965), 12th in slugging (.542), 18th (tied) in intentional walks (12) and 23rd in batting (.317).
Edgar’s .423 on-base percentage vs. the Yankees remains the best in the Majors since Ted Williams posted a .495 lifetime OBP against New York. Edgar trails only Williams at .495, Ferris Fain (.447), Ty Cobb (.436) and Max Bishop (.426).
In his career, Edgar tallied 26 4-hit games with five of those 26 games coming vs. the Yankees, the most vs. any single opponent in his career.
His numbers vs. the Yankees from 1991–2002 are even more impressive. Over those 12 seasons, Edgar hit .338 with 80 runs, 37 doubles, 1 triple, 17 home runs, 86 RBI, 72 walks, a .447 on-base percentage and .573 slugging percentage.
During this time span, Edgar led all players in doubles (37) and on-base percentage (.447) vs. the Yankees while also ranking tied-for-2nd in game-winning RBI (10) and go-ahead RBI (23), 3rd in RBI (86), runs (80) and extra-base hits (55), 4th in walks (72) and OPS (1.020), 5th in batting (.338) and hits (129), 8th in slugging (.573) and 15th (tied) in home runs (17).
Edgar was at his best against one of the best closers in the game of baseball: Yankees right-hander Mariano Rivera. In 16 career at-bats vs. Rivera, Edgar collected 10 hits, including 3 doubles and 2 home runs while driving in 6 runs. His .625 career average vs. Rivera is tops all-time among players with at least 20 plate appearances against the Yankees reliever. Edgar is one of five players to ever hit 2 home runs off of Rivera, joining Miguel Cabrera, Aubrey Huff, Evan Longoria and Rafael Palmeiro.
In 2013, Rivera told the New York Daily News that Edgar was the toughest hitter he ever faced.
“The toughest — and thank God he retired — Edgar Martinez,” Rivera said. “Oh my God. I think every pitcher will say that, because this man was tough.”
Postseason Success vs. the Yankees
Edgar hit .323 with 9 runs, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, 14 RBI, 10 walks, a .417 on-base percentage and a .548 slugging percentage in 16 career postseason games vs. the Yankees. He hit cleanup in the batting order in each of those 16 games.
His 8 career postseason extra-base hits vs. the Yankees are tied for 8th-most all-time.
Most Extra-Base Hits vs. the Yankees in the Postseason
Duke Snider, 18
George Brett, 13
Carl Furillo, 11
Trot Nixon, 10
Jackie Robinson, 10
Jason Varitek, 10
Roy Campanella, 9
Edgar Martinez, 8
4 others, 8
Edgar’s performance in the 1995 ALDS vs. the Yankees was one of the greatest single series by a hitter in League Divsion Series history.
He hit .571 (12x21) with 6 runs, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 RBI, 6 walks, a .667 on-base percentage and a 1.095 slugging percentage in 5 games. Edgar delivered the game-winning RBI for the Mariners in 2 of the club’s 3 wins, belting an 8th-inning grand slam in Game 4 and doubling down the left field line in the 11th inning of Game 5.
Edgar’s walk-off double in Game 5 is 1 of 27 walk-off hits in a series-clinching game in postseason history. Of those 27 hits, Edgar’s is 1 of 3 behind-to-ahead walk-off hits in a series-clinching postseason game.
Most RBI in a Single League Division Series
John Valentin-BOS, 1999, 12 RBI
Nomar Garciaparra-BOS, 1998, 11 RBI
Edgar Martinez-SEA, 1995, 10 RBI
Reggie Sanders-STL, 2005, 10 RBI
Jim Thome-CLE, 1999, 10 RBI
Edgar was remarkably consistent vs. New York. On May 24, 1996, Edgar and the Mariners faced the Yankees at the Kingdome for the first time following his Game 5 heroics in the 1995 ALDS. Edgar hit two doubles that night, including one just like his game-winning double in Game 5.
Edgar Martinez Weekend is set for August 11–13 when the Mariners host the Los Angeles Angels at Safeco Field. The weekend-long celebration begins with Bobblehead Night on Friday, August 11. Edgar joins Ken Griffey Jr. in becoming the 2nd player in franchise history to have his number retired in a pre-game ceremony on Edgar Martinez Number Retirement Night, Saturday, August 12. The festivities conclude with Edgar Martinez Replica Jersey Day on Sunday, August 13.
Tomorrow on 11 Days of Edgar, we look at Edgar and his ability to drive the ball to every part of the field for extra-base hits, specifically doubles. He hit 514 career doubles in his career, most in Mariners history.
