Young Edgar Martinez started his baseball career December 19th, 1982 when the Seattle Mariners signed him to a minor league contract. Martinez ended up making his major league debut with Seattle in 1990 at third base.
Right away Martinez started making a name for himself. He is the first Mariner to lead the American league in the Triple Crown Category. This came as no surprise to Seattle fans considering his .343 batting average was the highest by a right-handed hitter in the American League. In 1992 Martinez won his first of many batting titles.
In 1994 Martinez was relieved of his position at third base due to a hamstring injury a few years prior. This ended up being a blessing to young Martinez, considering he was the strongest hitter on the team. Proving to Seattle this choice paid off in 1995 he set a career high 7.0 wins above replacement setting his name nicely at second in the league.
If you ask any Seattle fan where they were doing when Martinez hit the famous double in the 1995 world series, they can tell you. October 8th, 1995, the Mariners played the Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Seattle was down by one run in the bottom half of the 11th inning with Joey Cora and the kid Ken Griffey Jr. on first. Martinez’s famous hit brought both runners home winning the game and clinching a 3-2 victory in the series. This was the last time the Mariners were American League champs. To this day this one swing is known as the biggest hit in franchise history.
Martinez was an essential to Seattle’s lineup in every year of his career no matter the position.
He played out his entire MLB career in Seattle, establishing himself as a fan favorite. There is even a street in Seattle adjoining Safeco Field renamed after him following his retirement.
On September 9th, 2003 Martinez was inducted into the honorable Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.
In 2004, the MLB renamed the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in his honor. As a five-time winner of the award, he is one of only eight Major League players to have awards named after them making this accomplishment all the more impressive.
He was also indicted into the Mariners Hall of Fame on June 2nd, 2007. Martinez was first eligible to elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 but he received a 36.2% of the vote. The largest voting percentage Martinez ever received in his favor was a 58% in 2017.
Some argue that all Martinez did was hit, which was true, but he was great at what he did. He consecutively carried Seattle on his back with his high batting averages and on base percentages. In opinions of most Washingtonians, inducting Martinez into the Hall of Fame is a no-brainer considering he played such a key role in making Seattle a power house in the MLB.
Marisa Lloyd can be reached at [email protected]