Edgar Martinez: Hall of Fame Candidate
Praise From His Peers
“Edgar deserves to be in [the Hall of Fame]…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.” — Ken Griffey Jr., HOF ’16
“Edgar Martinez is, hands down, the best hitter that I’ve ever seen…he is the best pure hitter that I got to see on a nightly basis. And I hope that his time comes soon, that he gets a phone call stating that he’s a Hall of Fame player, because he is.” — Randy Johnson, HOF ‘15
“The toughest — and thank God he retired — Edgar Martinez…I think every pitcher will say that, because this man was tough.” — Mariano Rivera
“He [Edgar] was the best hitter I’ve ever seen. He was tough to get out. He was prepared…He gave Mariano [Rivera] a lot of trouble. He gave a lot of us a lot of trouble. He was unbelievable.” — Jorge Posada
“The toughest guy I faced I think — with all due respect to all the players in the league — was Edgar Martinez. He had to make me throw at least 13 fastballs above 95…Edgar was a guy that had the ability to foul off pitches, and it pissed me off because I couldn’t get the guy out.” — Pedro Martinez, HOF ‘15
“I remember when I was coming up, I used to watch a guy like Edgar hit and I was like, ‘This is ridiculous’…He’s a .312 career hitter. When you’re a career .312 hitter at this level, that means you pretty much got everything down.” — David Ortiz
“I think the writers have spoken in my case, and they will again in the future. They’re not going to hold [being a DH] against you. It’s part of the game and should be included as such. He [EDGAR] was one of the most feared right-handed hitters for a long time in this league. The amount of respect he has from peers speaks to the value of the offensive player he was.” — Paul Molitor, HOF ‘04
“A professional, quiet, humble giant and one of the best right-handed hitters ever seen.” — Dusty Baker
Hall of Fame Candidate
At the end of the 2004 baseball season, Edgar Martinez announced his retirement after 18 years in the Major Leagues, all with one team — the Seattle Mariners. One of baseball’s best hitters, Edgar is once again on the 2017–2018 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ballot, his ninth time to appear on the ballot. Martinez earned 58.6% percent of the vote in 2017, continuing his steady climb in percentage. Edgar’s increase in votes of 15.2% from 2016 to 2017 was the 2nd-largest gain of any returning player on the ballot.
Edgar became the Mariners regular third baseman in 1990 at the age of 27. In his first 2 seasons, he proved to be a good defensive third baseman and was the 1992 AL batting champion, the first of his 2 batting titles. Injuries limited him in 1993 and 1994, and manager Lou Piniella moved him to designated hitter in 1995, the position he primarily played the rest of his career.
Edgar was very simply one of the top all-around hitters of his era as well as in baseball history. He combined power (best exemplified by his slugging percentage) with the ability to reach base safely (among the best in on-base percentage), both at rates that rank high on the all-time lists of Hall of Fame hitters. From 1990 (when he became a regular) to his retirement in 2004, the Mariners posted a .512 winning percentage, and were one of just 11 MLB teams to win more than 1,200 games.
Edgar’s skills on the field were only outshone by his character off the field. In addition to being beloved by teammates and respected by opponents, Edgar was (and is) an important benefactor to his community. He moved to Seattle when he joined the Mariners and never left. Following the 2004 season, he was recognized with the Roberto Clemente Award, and in 2007 he was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.
The Mariners organization is proud to provide for your consideration the information below which is intended to present Edgar’s outstanding career accomplishments and put them into historical perspective.
[Edgar’s career Major League statistics are listed at the end of this document. All statistics and notes are from baseball’s modern era (since 1901), and percentages are based on a minimum of 3,000 plate appearances. Hall of Famers are bold and active players are in italics.]
Career Overview
Edgar was one of the top all-around hitters of his era as well as in baseball history. He combined power with the ability to reach base safely, both at rates that rank high on the all-time lists of Hall of Fame hitters.
Over his 18 Major League seasons — all in a Mariners uniform — Edgar hit .312 with a .418 on-base percentage and a .515 slugging percentage while amassing 1,219 runs, 2,247 hits, 514 doubles, 309 home runs, 1,261 RBI and 1,283 walks in 2,055 career games.
He is one of 14 players in Major League history to post a lifetime triple slash line of at least .310/.410/.510 in at least 5,000 career plate appearances. Of the 13 other players to do so, nine are Hall of Famers and one is an active player. Edgar joins Ty Cobb, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, Harry Heilmann, Todd Helton, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Jackson, Stan Musial, Manny Ramirez, Babe Ruth, Joey Votto and Ted Williams as the only players to match these criteria over a career.
Edgar won 5 Silver Sluggers and 5 Outstanding DH of the Year Awards while being named an AL All-Star 7 times.
The Batting Titles
Edgar became the first Mariner to win an American League batting title in 1992 when he led the AL with a .343 batting average. Three seasons later, he became a two-time AL batting champion as he posted a league-leading .356 clip in 1995. He is one of 10 right-handed batters to win multiple batting titles in the American League:
Right-Handed Batters with Multiple AL Batting Titles
Nap Lajoie
Harry Heilmann
Al Simmons
Jimmie Foxx
Joe DiMaggio
Luke Appling
EDGAR MARTINEZ
Nomar Garciaparra
Miguel Cabrera
Jose Altuve
1992
· Became the first Mariner to lead the AL in a Triple Crown category.
· Tied for the league-lead in doubles (46) and ranked 2nd in slugging (.544), 4th in on-base percentage (.404), 5th in extra-base hits (67), 7th in hits (181) and tied-for-8th in runs (100).
· Earned his first of 7 All-Star Game appearances and his first of 5 Silver Slugger awards.
· Named AL Player of the Month twice, claiming the award after batting a league-leading .388 in July and after batting safely in 17 straight games in August.
· From August 12–31, recorded his first of 2 career-best 17-game hitting streaks, batting .433 (31x70) with 15 runs, 12 doubles, 3 home runs and 16 RBI.
· Went hitless in more than 2 consecutive games just once (April 11–15).
1995
· Claimed his 2nd AL batting crown, posting a league-best .356 average.
· His .356 average was the highest by a right-handed batting AL batting champion since Joe DiMaggio hit .381 in 1939.
· Finished 3rd in the AL MVP voting after leading the league in batting (.356), runs (121), doubles (52) and on-base percentage (.479) while ranking 2nd in hits (182), walks (116) and slugging (.628) as well as 4th in RBI (113).
· Started each of the Mariners games, reaching base safely via a hit or a walk in 137-of-145 contests.
· Named AL Player of the Month for June, batting .402 with an MLB-best 32 RBI.
· Went hitless in back-to-back games just 3 times all season and did not go hitless in 3 consecutive games.
One of the Game’s Greats
Edgar posted 4 seasons with at least 100 walks (1995–98), one of 28 players in Major League history to do so in at least 4 straight seasons. He drew 90-or-more walks in 8 seasons (1995–2001, 2003), including his four 100-walk campaigns. Over his 18-year career, Edgar recorded 1,283 walks in 8,672 plate appearances, totaling 14.79 percent of his trips to the plate.
Edgar recorded more walks than strikeouts in 10 different seasons and finished his career with more walks than strikeouts (1,283 BB, 1,202 K).
Among the 146 players to amass at least 300 career home runs since 1901, Edgar is one of 28 to do so while recording more walks than strikeouts. 19 of those 28 players are Hall of Famers.
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Edgar is one of 9 players in Major League history to record at least 2,000 hits, 500 doubles, 300 home runs, 1,200 RBI and 1,200 walks with one club.
The other players to match those criteria with one club are Hank Aaron (Braves), Carl Yastrzemski (Red Sox), Ted Williams (Red Sox), Lou Gehrig (Yankees), Willie Mays (Giants), Stan Musial (Cardinals), Chipper Jones (Braves) and Todd Helton (Rockies).
Jones is in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility this year while Helton will be eligible next year.
A Balance of Patience and Power at the Plate
Edgar balanced patience with the ability to drive the ball to all fields. He ranks high on the all-time lists of Hall of Fame hitters in on-base percentage and OPS, exemplifying his power and discipline at the plate.
He is one of only 9 players in Major League history to have collected at least 300 home runs, 500 doubles and 1,000 walks while posting a batting average of .300 or better and an on-base percentage of .400 or better.
Edgar joins Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Todd Helton, Chipper Jones and Manny Ramirez as the only players to reach those plateaus over a career. Five of the other 8 players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame while Ramirez is in his 2nd year on the ballot, Jones is on the ballot for the first time in 2017, and Helton will be eligible next year.
Edgar is one of 5 retired players to post a lifetime triple slash line of at least .310/.410/.510 since the end of World War II, joining Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Todd Helton and Manny Ramirez.
OPS And Edgar
Edgar ranks 33rd all-time with a career OPS of .933. Among the 32 players who rank ahead of him in career OPS, 18 are in the Hall of Fame, 4 are active players and 3 will be eligible on future ballots.
Edgar recorded an OPS of at least 1.000 in 5 seasons (1995–97, 1999–2000), had an OPS above .900 in 9 seasons (1987, 1992, 1995–2001) and above .800 in 14 seasons (1987, 1990–92, 1994–2003).
On-Base Machine
Since 1901, Edgar’s .418 career on-base percentage ranks 17th-best in Major League history, including 4th-best by a right-handed batter. Of the 16 players ahead of Edgar, 11 are in the Hall of Fame and one is not yet eligible.
High Marks
From 1995 through 1997, Edgar posted an on-base percentage of .450-or-better in 3 straight seasons. He is one of 10 players all-time to accomplish this feat. Edgar joins Ty Cobb (7, 1910–16), Rogers Hornsby (5, 1921–25), Wade Boggs (4, 1985–88), Barry Bonds (4, 2001–04), Lou Gehrig (4, 1934–37), Frank Thomas (4, 1994–97), Ted Williams (4, 1946–49; 3, 1956–58), Joe Jackson (3, 1911–13) and Babe Ruth (3, 3x, 1919–21, 1926–28 and 1930–32) as the only players to meet these criteria.
Top On-Base Performers Since 1945
Among the 243 players with at least 7,500 plate appearances since the end of World War II, Edgar’s .418 on-base percentage is 4th-best, behind Barry Bonds (.444), Mickey Mantle (.421) and Frank Thomas (.419).
Since 1945, Edgar is also one of 13 players to bat .312 or better in at least 7,500 plate appearances. He joins Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente, Tony Gwynn, Stan Musial, Kirby Puckett, Miguel Cabrera, Vladimir Guerrero, Todd Helton, Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki and Larry Walker.
By The Numbers
.625:
Edgar hit .625 vs. Mariano Rivera. In 16 career at-bats against New York’s closer, Edgar collected 10 hits, including 3 doubles and 2 home runs, while driving in 6 runs. His .625 average vs. Rivera is tops all-time among players with at least 20 plate appearances vs. the Yankees reliever.
2:
In 1995, Edgar hit .356 with 52 doubles, 29 home runs, 113 RBI, a .479 on-base percentage and a .628 slugging percentage. He is one of two players in Major League history to bat at least .350 with at least 50 doubles, 20 home runs, 100 RBI, a .470 on-base percentage and a .620 slugging percentage in a single season. The only other player to meet these criteria was Lou Gehrig in 1927.
14:
Over his Major League career, Edgar hit .312 with a .418 on-base percentage and a .515 slugging mark. He is one of 14 players in Major League history to post a lifetime triple slash line of at least .310/.410/.510 in at least 5,000 career plate appearances. He joins Ty Cobb, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, Harry Heilmann, Todd Helton, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Jackson, Stan Musial, Manny Ramirez, Babe Ruth, Joey Votto and Ted Williams.
50:
Edgar tallied 50 doubles in back-to-back seasons, collecting a league-leading 52 doubles in 1995 before posting an identical mark in 1996. He is one of 9 players all-time with 50-plus doubles in consecutive seasons, joining Tris Speaker (1920–21), George Burns (1926–27), Billy Herman (1935–36), Joe Medwick (1936–37), Craig Biggio (1998–99), Todd Helton (2000–01), Albert Pujols (2003–04) and Brian Roberts (2008–09).
150:
Edgar recorded a career OPS+ of 147. A 100 OPS+ is considered league average, and a 150 OPS+ is considered a great season. Each point above 100 represents a percentage point; thus Edgar is 47% better than average over his career. OPS+ is a statistic that measures a player’s OPS against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. Over the course of his career, Edgar recorded 8 seasons with a 150 OPS+ (1992, 1995–2001). Edgar is one only 25 players in Major League Baseball history with as many as 8 seasons with an OPS+ of at least 150. 18 of those 25 are already in the Hall of Fame while 2 are active players.
514:
Edgar totaled 514 doubles in his career, which ranks 49th-most in Major League history. He doubled in 460 of his 2,055 career games, or approximately 22 percent of his total games. From 1995-to-2001, he led the Major Leagues with 291 doubles; he was the only American Leaguer to hit at least 30 doubles in each of those 7 seasons.
Prime Time
During the 7-year stretch from 1995–2001, Edgar was a dominant offensive force, batting .329 with a .446 on-base percentage and a .574 slugging percentage. He also recorded 291 doubles in 1,020 games.
During this span (1995–2001), he led the Majors in doubles, while ranking 2nd in on-base percentage, 5th in batting and 14th in slugging.
Martinez is one of only four players in Major League history to record a 7-season stretch meeting the following statistical milestones:
· Batting average of at least .325
· On-base percentage of at least .440
· Slugging percentage of at least .570
· At least 250 doubles
· At least 1,000 games
He is joined by Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams and Todd Helton in accomplishing this feat.
The Mark of Offensive Consistency
In the 12 seasons between 1990 and 2001, Edgar was healthy enough to play 90 or more games 10 times. In those 10 seasons, Edgar hit .300 or better every year. In those 12 seasons from 1990–2001, Edgar hit a combined .321 with a .429 on-base percentage and a .537 slugging percentage. He posted a .966 OPS with 1,043 walks compared to 983 strikeouts.
Since the 1940’s, Edgar is one of just 7 hitters to bat at least .320 in at least 6 consecutive seasons, joining Stan Musial, Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Todd Helton and Albert Pujols. Edgar did so from 1995–2000, batting a career-best .356 in 1995, followed by .327 in 1996, .330 in 1997, .322 in 1998, .337 in 1999 and .324 in 2000.
In the 1990’s, Edgar was one of 7 hitters with an OPS above 1.000 in 4-or-more seasons. He was joined by Barry Bonds (8), Mark McGwire (6), Frank Thomas (6), Albert Belle (4), Jeff Bagwell (4) and Ken Griffey Jr. (4).
Postseason Heroics
Edgar made his postseason debut in the 1995 American League Division Series vs. the Yankees. After leading the AL in batting, runs, doubles, on-base percentage and OPS during the regular season, Edgar continued his torrid hitting during the playoffs.
Mr. Clutch
With the Mariners trailing the Yankees, 2-to-1 in the best-of-5 series, Edgar went 3-for-4 with 7 RBI in Game 4 of the ’95 ALDS, belting a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning and a grand slam home run in the last of the 8th. His grand slam gave the Mariners a 10–6 lead they would not relinquish as they evened the series at 2–2.
The following night in the deciding game of the series, Edgar once again delivered the game-winning hit. With the Mariners trailing 5–4 in the bottom of the 11th and runners on 1st and 3rd, Edgar laced a double off Yankees ace Jack McDowell into the left-field corner to score Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr., sending the Mariners to their first ALCS appearance. Edgar’s walk-off double is one of three behind-to-ahead walk-off hits in a series-clinching postseason game in Major League history. It is known to Mariners fans as simply “The Double” and remains one of the most iconic hits in club history.
One for the Record Books
Edgar collected 3 hits in 4-of-the-5 games in the ’95 ALDS while drawing 3 walks in the other contest. All told, he reached base 18 times against the Yankees, a League Division Series record. He finished the series with a .571 average with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 RBI a .667 OBP and a 1.095 slugging mark. His 12 hits are tied for the all-time League Division Series record while his 10 RBI are tied for 3rd-most in a single League Division Series.
Postseason Career
Edgar is the Mariners all-time postseason leader in games (34), runs (16), hits (34), doubles (7), home runs (8, tied) and RBI (24).
He appeared in 4 League Division Series, batting .375 with 5 doubles, 7 home runs, 20 RBI, a .481 OBP and a .781 slugging mark. Edgar ranks in the top-10 all-time in LDS history in batting, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS, including holding the top career slugging mark in LDS play.
Defining the DH Position
Edgar was a 5-time recipient of the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, claiming the honors in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001.
During Edgar’s retirement ceremony at Safeco Field on October 2, 2004, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball had renamed the award the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.
After injuries limited Edgar to 42 games in 1993 and 89 games in 1994, Mariners manager Lou Piniella moved him from 3rd base to DH in 1995, where he played primarily for the rest of his career. He continued to be one of the most-feared hitters of his era.
Leading the Way
When Edgar won the American League batting title in 1995 with a .356 average, he became the first full-time DH to claim a batting crown. He made 95 percent of his starts at DH in 1995, still the highest percentage of starts at DH of any batting champion ahead of Manny Ramirez in 2002 (42 percent) and Frank Thomas in 1997 (33 percent).
In 1,403 career appearances at DH, Edgar hit .314 with 883 runs, 370 doubles, 6 triples, 243 home runs, 1,003 RBI, 986 walks, a .428 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage.
Best At His Position
Among players with at least 3,000 career plate appearances as a designated hitter, Edgar owns the highest career batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. He also ranks 2nd in doubles and RBI at DH while ranking 3rd in home runs.
He is one of two players in Major League history to collect 1,000 career RBI from the designated hitter position, joining David Ortiz (1,569).
Edgar — a 5-time recipient of the Outstanding DH Award — joins Ortiz (8) as the only players to earn those honors at least 4 times since the DH was adopted by the American League in 1973. He won 4 Silver Slugger Awards as a DH (1995, 1997, 2001 and 2003), 2nd-most in Major League history (Ortiz, 6).
In the Community
Edgar skills on the playing field were only outshone by his character off the field. He has given generously of his time, his money and his energy to support causes important to him and his family, including Seattle Children’s Hospital, where the Mariners established the Edgar Martinez Endowment for Muscular Dystrophy Research upon his retirement in 2004.
Roberto Clemente Award
Following the 2004 season, Edgar received the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes the player who best represents the game of baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions, on and off the field. Edgar, who grew up in Puerto Rico, became the first Puerto Rican to receive the Clemente Award.
World Sports Humanitarian Hall Of Fame
In 2007, Edgar was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, along with NBA star Dikembe Mutombo and NASCAR driver Kyle Petty.
The Hall of Fame, which is located in Boise, ID, recognizes individuals and organizations from the world of amateur and pro sports who, their humanitarian efforts, distinguish themselves as role models in the community.
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Number Retirement
On August 12, 2017, Edgar’s №11 was retired by the Mariners, making him one of two players to have their respective numbers retired by the club, as Edgar joined Ken Griffey Jr. in this prestigious honor.
Mariners Hall of Fame
Edgar was inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame on June 2, 2007, at the time becoming the 4th inductee in club history. He joins Alvin Davis, Dave Niehaus, Jay Buhner, Randy Johnson, Dan Wilson, Ken Griffey Jr., Lou Piniella and Jamie Moyer in the Mariners Hall of Fame.
Edgar Martinez Drive
On March 5, 2005, the section of Atlantic Street South that runs along the south side of Safeco Field was designated as “Edgar Martinez Drive South” by the City of Seattle, giving Edgar his own lined drive.
The Common Thread
Since signing with the club in 1982, Edgar has been a part of the organization for 36 of the 41 seasons of Mariners Baseball. After playing 18 Major League seasons with Seattle — the longest career of any Mariner — he has spent the past 3 seasons as the club’s hitting coach. During his 18-year career with the Mariners, Edgar was teammates with 364 different players — 46 percent of all players who have appeared in at least 1 game with the club.
Mariners All-Time Batting Leaders
Edgar ranks among the top-10 of the Mariners all-time club leaders in nearly every offensive category. He is the franchise career leader in doubles, runs, RBI, walks, total bases, extra-base hits, games and on-base percentage, while ranking among the top-10 in batting, at-bats, home runs and slugging percentage.
