I always was a fan of Edgar Martinez, Seattle Mariners DH. He looked like a really regular guy, and generally acted like one, too, but he tended to hit what appeared to be an almost effortless .320, .330 with 40 doubles and 80-plus RBI, in years he wasn’t hurt.

Now, Edgar is up for Hall of Fame consideration, having been out of uniform for five years now. And the Seattle Mariners are campaigning for him. Hard.

At the bottom of this post I will append the reams of stats and notes they have sent me pertaining to Edgar. I have a Hall vote, after covering ball for three-plus decades. So that’s why the Mariners clogged my inbox with the statbook I will add later.

I have two issues with Edgar Martinez that I have to resolve before I can support him, and all the numbers and verbiage the Mariners have mustered doesn’t help me. If anything, it reminds me that they did not answer these questions:

1. Does any player who spent most of his career as a designated hitter … belong in the Hall?

Doesn’t that make you half a player? Your defense is so bad (or you are so slow,  or you’re so fragile or busted up) that they can’t even hide you out in left field.

Think of all the guys who played before the DH rule whose careers as regulars ended the moment they couldn’t handle the leather. Edgar, meanwhile, did four seasons and change at third base, then went to DH for the final decade-plus of his career. His “counting” numbers totals would be feeble if he hadn’t been able to DH.

It isn’t Martinez’s fault that he got hurt … but don’t we have to consider where he fits in, in the context of baseball history?

(And, by the way, the “do DH’s belong” argument has never really been resolved. Martinez’s candidacy should give us an idea of what the electorate thinks, with Jim Thome and David Ortiz, etc., coming up in the not-so-distant future.)

2.  Down below, you can wade through the reams of info the Mariners have sent along, but not until you are near the end of it all will you come across what I consider to be some very important numbers.

Edgar Martinez’s MVP voting record.

Even though he often was described as “the best right-handed hitter in the game” … Martinez finished in the top five in the American League MVP voting only once, a third in 1995.  He was sixth in 2000, and in only three other seasons did he get any mention at all in the MVP balloting — 12th in 1992, 14th in 1997, 16th in 2001.

The Mariners attempt to explain this away by saying his support was “splintered” by votes for teammates such as Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki … and even Jay Buhner, Bret Boone and Mike Cameron.

Instead, what that suggests to me is that the MVP voters, who watched ball every day in those seasons, didn’t think Martinez was even the best player on his own team. And how often does a guy not-even-the-best-on-his-team (aside from, perhaps, 1995) … get into the Hall?

Again, I like Edgar. The pudge and the gap power (he never hit more than 37 homers, but had at least 30 doubles nine times) in an era that was rotten with ‘roided up guys with ridiculous homer spikes … well, I like that Edgar either didn’t juice — or wasn’t very good at it. He wasn’t all cut and defined, and he didn’t launch monster homers.

But I will have to think, hard, about the DH thing … and about whether the second- or third- or fourth-best player on the Mariners deserves to be in the Hall.

OK, now the mountain of stuff from the Mariners PR department. Enjoy.

EDGAR MARTINEZ: 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 a first-time candidate on the 2009-2010 ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Edgar became the Mariners regular third baseman in 1990 at the age of 27.  In his first three seasons, he proved to be a good defensive third baseman and was the 1992 AL batting champion, the first of his two league batting titles.  Injuries limited him in 1993 and 1994, and as a result, he played primarily as a designated hitter 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.

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.]

EDGAR MARTINEZ: BATTING TITLES AND AWARDS…
*       2 American League Batting Titles: 1992 (.343) and 1995 (.356)
*       3 American League On-Base Percentage Titles: 1995 (.479), 1998 (.429), 1999 (.447)
*       5 Silver Slugger Awards: 1992, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003
*       5 Designated Hitter of the Year Awards: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 (now the Edgar Martinez Award)
*       6 Top-10 finishes in American League in Slugging Percentage: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001
*       7 All-Star Game Appearances: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003
*       7 Top-10 finishes in American League in Average: 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
*       11 Top-10 finishes in AL On-Base Pct: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
Milestone Batting Titles…Edgar hit .343 in 1992, at the time the highest batting average in the American League by a right-handed hitter since Harvey Kuenn hit .353 with Detroit in 1959…in addition to leading the league in hitting, led in doubles (46), was second in slugging percentage (.544) and fourth in on-base percentage (.404). Martinez won his second batting title in 1995, posting a .356 mark, at the time the highest in the AL by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio hit .381 in 1939…his ‘95 title made him, at the time, just the seventh right-handed hitter to win two batting titles, the first in the AL since Luke Appling (1936 & 1943)…in 1995, Edgar led the league in average, on-base percentage (.479), runs (121) and doubles (52).

SELECT COMPANY: HITTERS WITH CAREER .300+ - .400+ - .500+ PERCENTAGES
Edgar Martinez is one of 20 players in Major League history to have a lifetime batting average over .300, a lifetime on-base percentage over .400 and a lifetime slugging percentage over .500…of the 12 prior eligible players in this select company, 11 are in the Hall of Fame:
Seasons AVG     OBP     SLG     G       R       H       2B      3B      HR      RBI
1       Ty Cobb HOF     1905-1928 (24)  .367    .433    .513    3033    2245    4191    724     297     117     1961
2       Rogers Hornsby  HOF     1915-1937 (23)  .358    .434    .577    2259    1579    2930    541     169     301     1584
3       Joe Jackson             1908-1920 (13)  .356    .423    .517    1330    873     1772    307     168     54      785
4.      Lefty O’Doul            1919-1934 (11)  .349    .413    .532    970     624     1140    175     41      113     542
5       Tris Speaker    HOF     1907-1928 (22)  .345    .428    .501    2789    1881    3515    793     222     117     1529
6       Ted Williams    HOF     1939-1960 (19)  .344    .482    .634    2292    1798    2654    525     71      521     1839
7       Babe Ruth       HOF     1914-1935 (22)  .342    .474    .690    2503    2174    2873    506     136     714     2213
8       Harry Heilmann  HOF     1914-1932 (17)  .342    .410    .520    2146    1291    2660    542     151     183     1539
9       Lou Gehrig      HOF     1923-1939 (17)  .340    .447    .632    2164    1888    2721    534     163     493     1995
10      Albert Pujols           2001-current (9)        .334    .427    .628    1399    1071    1717    387     14      366     1112
11      Stan Musial     HOF     1941-1963 (22)  .331    .417    .559    3026    1949    3630    725     177     475     1951
12      Todd Helton             1997-current (13)       .328    .427    .567    1812    1222    2134    509     34      325     1202
13      Jimmie Foxx     HOF     1925-1945 (20)  .325    .428    .609    2317    1751    2646    458     125     534     1922
14      Hank Greenberg  HOF     1930-1947 (13)  .313    .412    .605    1394    1051    1628    379     71      331     1276
15      Manny Ramirez           1993-current (17)       .313    .411    .591    2207    1506    2494    531     20      546     1788
16      Larry Walker            1989-2005 (17)  .313    .400    .565    1988    1355    2160    471     62      383     1311
17      Edgar Martinez          1987-2004 (18)  .312    .418    .515    2055    1219    2247    514     15      309     1261
18      Chipper Jones           1993-current (16)       .307    .406    .541    2166    1458    2406    472     37      426     1445
19      Mel Ott HOF     1926-1947 (22)  .304    .414    .533    2730    1859    2876    488     72      511     1860
20      Frank Thomas            1990-2008 (19)  .301    .419    .555    2322    1494    2468    495     12      521     1704

VERY SELECT COMPANY:
HITTERS WITH CAREER .300+ AVG, .400+ OBP, 300+ HR, 500+ 2B, 1,000+ BB
Edgar Martinez is one of only eight players (listed below) in Major League history to have collected 300+ HR, 500+ doubles, 1000+ walks, boast an average over .300 and an on-base percentage over .400. All five (of these eight) players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame have been inducted in Cooperstown. The other two are still active. Edgar finished his career with 2247 hits, 514 doubles, 1283 walks, 309 home runs, a .312 career batting average and a .418 career on-base percentage.

PLAYER          H       2B      BB      HR      AVG     OBP
Stan Musial     HOF     3630    725     1599    475     .331    .417
Rogers Hornsby  HOF     2930    541     1038    301     .358    .434    RH
Babe Ruth       HOF     2873    506     2062    714     .342    .474
Lou Gehrig      HOF     2721    535     1508    493     .340    .447
Ted Williams    HOF     2654    525     2021    521     .344    .482
Manny Ramirez           2494    531     1283    546     .313    .411    RH
Edgar Martinez          2247    514     1283    309     .312    .418    RH
Todd Helton             2134    509     1130    325     .328    .427

ON-BASE  PERCENTAGE AND EDGAR MARTINEZ
ON-BASE PERCENTAGE:
*       Edgar Martinez ranks 18th on the all-time list with a career OBP of .418.
*       Of the 17 players with a higher on-base percentage, 10 are in the Hall of Fame, 2 are still active, 2 are retired but not yet eligible, 2 are not in the HOF and Joe Jackson is banned from baseball.
1. Ted Williams HOF     .482     8. Tris Speaker        HOF     .428    15. Mickey Mantle       HOF     .421
2. Babe Ruth    HOF     .474     9. Todd Helton         .427    16. Mickey Cochrane     HOF     .419
3. Lou Gehrig   HOF     .447    10. Albert Pujols               .427    17. Frank Thomas                .419
4. Barry Bonds          .444    11. Eddie Collins       HOF     .424    18. Edgar Martinez              .418
5. Rogers Hornsby       HOF     .434    12. Ferris Fain         .424    19. Stan Musial HOF     .417
6. Ty Cobb      HOF     .433    13. Max Bishop          .423    20. Wade Boggs  HOF     .415
7. Jimmie Foxx  HOF     .428    14. Joe Jackson         .423    21. Mel Ott     HOF     .414

BEST ON-BASE PERCENTAGE SEASONS: As noted earlier, Edgar Martinez won a pair of AL batting titles (1992 & 1995). Edgar also led the AL in on-base percentage three times (.479 in 1995, .429 in 1998 and .447 in 1999) and finished in the top 10 seven other seasons in his career.

TOP ON-BASE PERFORMANCES SINCE WORLD WAR II: Among retired players since 1945 with at least 7,500 plate appearances, Edgar Martinez is one of only four players with a career on-base percentage of at least .418 (also: Barry Bonds, Mickey Mantle and Frank Thomas) and one of only eight players with a career batting average of at least .312 (also: Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Stan Musial, Kirby Puckett, Roberto Clemente and Larry Walker).

OPS (ON-BASE + SLUGGING  PERCENTAGE) AND EDGAR MARTINEZ
*       Edgar Martinez ranks 32nd on the all-time list with a career OPS of .933.
*       Among every player in modern Major League history, Martinez ranks 32nd in OPS; on the All-Time OPS list, the only players ahead of Edgar who are eligible for the Hall of Fame, but not inducted, are Mark McGwire and Lefty O’Doul.
*       Edgar recorded an OPS above 1.000 in five seasons (1995-97, 1999-2000); had an OPS above .900 in nine seasons (1987, 1992, 1995-2001); and above .800 in 14 seasons (1987, 1990-92, 1994-2003).
1.      Babe Ruth       HOF     1.163           (14)    18.     Alex Rodriguez          .965    RH      (6)
2.      Ted Williams    HOF     1.115           (18)    19.     Ryan Howard             .961            (1)
3.      Lou Gehrig      HOF     1.079           (13)    20.     Jim Thome               .960            (5)
4.      Albert Pujols           1.054   RH      (7)     21.     Johnny Mize     HOF     .959            (5)
5.      Barry Bonds             1.051           (15)    22.     Vladimir Guerrero               .954    RH      (3)
6.      Jimmie Foxx     HOF     1.037   RH      (10)    23.     Jeff Bagwell            .948    RH      (5)
7.      Hank Greenberg  HOF     1.016   RH      (7)     24.     Mel Ott HOF     .947            (7)
8.      Rogers Hornsby  HOF     1.010   RH      (9)     25.     Chipper Jones           .946    B       (6)
9.      Manny Ramirez           1.001   RH      (8)     26.     Ty Cobb HOF     .946            (8)
10.     Todd Helton             .993            (5)     27.     Ralph Kiner     HOF     .945    RH      (3)
11.     Mark McGwire            .982    RH      (7)     28.     Lefty O’Doul            .945            (2)
12.     Mickey Mantle   HOF     .977    B       (8)     29.     Willie Mays     HOF     .941    RH      (5)
13.     Joe DiMaggio    HOF     .977    RH      (5)     30.     Joe Jackson             .940            (5)
14.     Stan Musial     HOF     .975            (9)     31.     Hack Wilson     HOF     .939    RH      (2)
15.     Frank Thomas            .974    RH      (7)     32.     Edgar Martinez          .933    RH      (5)
16.     Lance Berkman           .967    B       (3)     33.     Albert Belle            .933    RH      (4)
17.     Larry Walker            .965            (6)     (numbers in parenthesis are seasons with OPS over 1.000)
*       Other notables on the all-time OPS list include Harry Heilmann (.930), Tris Speaker (.929), Hank Aaron (.928) and Frank Robinson (.926). Other active players include David Ortiz (.922), Ken Griffey Jr. (.912) and Gary Sheffield (.907).
*       Edgar has a career OPS+ of .147 tied for 39th all time with Willie Stargell, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez and Lance Berkman…a 100 OPS+ is considered league average…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.

AMONG THE BEST HITTERS TO PLAY THE GAME
Edgar’s career batting average: .312            Rank   71st
Edgar’s career on-base percentage:      .418            Rank   18th
Edgar’s career slugging percentage:     .515            Rank   68th
Edgar’s career OPS:     .933            Rank   32nd

DEFINING A POSITION: THE EDGAR MARTINEZ OUTSTANDING DESIGNATED HITTER AWARD
On October 2, 2004, during a retirement ceremony at Safeco Field, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball had renamed the annual Outstanding Designated Hitter Award the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. Edgar was a five-time winner (1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001) of the award during his career.

Edgar Martinez has the highest career batting average, on-base percentage and OPS (OBP + SLG) of any player as a designated hitter (minimum: 1000 G). As a DH, he also has the most RBI and doubles; and ranks 3rd in home runs.

HIGHEST AVG as DH       MOST HR as DH           MOST RBI as DH
Edgar Martinez  .314    David Ortiz     274     Edgar Martinez  1003
Paul Molitor    .308    Frank Thomas    269     Harold Baines   978
Hal McRae       .295    Edgar Martinez  243     David Ortiz     900
Harold Baines   .291    Harold Baines   235     Frank Thomas    881
David Ortiz     .284    Don Baylor      219     Hal McRae       808

HIGHEST OBP as DH       HIGHEST OPS as DH       MOST 2B as DH
Edgar Martinez  .428    Edgar Martinez  .959    Edgar Martinez  370
Frank Thomas    .394    David Ortiz     .936    Hal McRae       357
Chili Davis     .381    Travis Hafner   .929    David Ortiz     310
David Ortiz     .381    Jim Thome       .923    Harold Baines   293
Paul Molitor    .374    Frank Thomas    .899    Paul Molitor    285

AN HISTORIC SEVEN-YEAR RUN OF OFFENSE
During the 7-year stretch from 1995-2001, Edgar Martinez was a dominant offensive force, hitting .329 with a .446 on-base percentage and a .574 slugging percentage…Edgar also recorded 291 doubles in 1,020 games during the stretch…his average was 5th in the Majors during that span, his slugging was 14th, on-base was 2nd and he led the Majors in doubles…Martinez is one of only four players in history to record a seven-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
*       Hit at least 250 doubles
*       Play in at least 1,000 games.

The only players to match these numbers over at least seven consecutive seasons are the following:

Player  Years
Lou Gehrig      1925-1938 (14)
Ted Williams    1939-1949 (11)
Todd Helton     1999-2006 (8)
Edgar Martinez  1995-2001 (7)

AMONG THE BEST IN HIS DAY
EDGAR’S PRIME TIME: In 13 seasons from 1991-2003, Edgar Martinez was in the top-25 in every major offensive category, including on-base percentage (2nd/.428), doubles (4th/450) and average (.7th/.318) …here’s a look:

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE      BATTING AVERAGE DOUBLES OPS
1. Barry Bonds, .462    1. Tony Gwynn, .347     1. Craig Biggio, 466    1. Barry Bonds, 1.116
2. Edgar Martinez, .428 2. Todd Helton, .337    2. John Olerud, 458     2. Mark McGwire, 1.043
3. Frank Thomas, .428   3. Nomar Garciaparra, .323      3. Jeff Bagwell, 455    3. Todd Helton, 1.041
4. Todd Helton, .425        Vladimir Guerrero, .323     4. Edgar Martinez, 450  4. Manny Ramirez, .1.010
5. Brian Giles, .417    5. Larry Walker, 321    5. Luis Gonzalez, 428   5. Frank Thomas, .996
6. Jason Giambi, .415   6. Mike Piazza, .319        Mark Grace, 428     6. Larry Walker, .986
7. Mark McGwire, .414   7. Edgar Martinez, .318 7. Rafael Palmeiro, 425 7. Brian Giles, .980
8. Manny Ramirez, .413  8. Derek Jeter, .317    8. Roberto Alomar, 420  8. Jim Thome, .979
9. Gary Sheffield, .412     Manny Ramirez, .317 9. Frank Thomas, 417    9. Vladimir Guerrero, .978
10. Jeff Bagwell, 411   10. Paul Molitor, .316      Larry Walker, 417   10. Edgar Martinez, .967
Jim Thome, .411

THE MARK OF OFFENSIVE CONSISTENCY: In the 12 seasons between 1990 and 2001, Edgar Martinez was healthy enough to play 90 or more games 10 times. In those 10 seasons, Edgar hit .300 or better every year…In total in the 12 seasons from 1990-2001, Edgar hit a combined .321 with a .429 on-base percentage and a .537 slugging percentage…his OPS was .966, with 1,043 walks compared to 983 strikeouts.

Since the 1940’s, Edgar is one of just six hitters who batted .320 in at least six straight seasons. The others are Stan Musial, Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn and Todd Helton.

In the 1990’s, Edgar is one of just seven hitters to post an OPS above 1.000 in four or more seasons. The others were Barry Bonds (8); Mark McGwire & Frank Thomas (6); Edgar Martinez, Albert Belle, Jeff Bagwell and Ken Griffey Jr. (4).

A TRUE SEATTLE MARINER
Through 2009, Edgar Martinez ranks second on the Mariners all-time list in batting average, first in on-base percentage, second in slugging percentage; and leads the franchise in at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, walks and he’s second in home runs.
*       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 then Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.
*       The Double: Edgar is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1995 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees in which he hit .571 and was on base 18 times in 5 games. In Game 4 of that series, he hit a three-run homer, then a grand slam home run that gave the Mariners a 10-6 lead en route to an 11-8 victory. His 7 RBI in that game set a single-game postseason record. The win knotted the best-of-five series at two games apiece and forced Game 5. Down 5-4 in the 11th inning of that decisive game, Martinez hit a two-run double, called simply “The Double” by Mariners fans, off Jack McDowell, scoring Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr. to win the game for the Mariners, 6-5.
*       Mariners Hall of Fame: Was inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame on June 2, 2007, just the third player honored in team history.

WALKS, DOUBLES AND HOME RUNS
POWER AND PATIENCE: Edgar Martinez collected four 100+ walk seasons (1995-98)…he had eight 90+ walk seasons (1995-2001, 2003) including the four 100 walk campaigns…for his career, walked 1,283 times in 8,672 plate appearances (14.79%)…had more walks than strikeouts in 10 different seasons and finished his career with more walks than K’s (1,283 career walks, 1,202 career strikeouts)…AMONG PLAYERS WITH 300 or MORE HOMERS, IS ONE OF JUST 28 PLAYERS WITH MORE WALKS THAN STRIKEOUTS…of the 28 players, 21 are eligible for the Hall of Fame and 18 are members:

Player          Walks   Homers  Strikeouts      Player          Walks   Homers  Strikeouts
Barry Bonds             2558    762     1539    Chipper Jones           1343    426     1231
Babe Ruth       HOF     2062    714     1330    Edgar Martinez          1283    309     1202
Ted Williams    HOF     2021    521     709     Al Kaline       HOF     1277    399     1020
Carl Yastrzemski        HOF     1845    452     1393    Todd Helton             1130    325     883
Mickey Mantle   HOF     1733    536     1710    George Brett    HOF     1096    317     908
Mel Ott HOF     1708    511     896     Rogers Hornsby  HOF     1038    301     679
Frank Thomas            1667    521     1397    Ralph Kiner     HOF     1011    369     749
Darrell Evans           1605    414     1410    Rocky Colavito          951     374     880
Stan Musial     HOF     1599    475     696     Johnny Mize     HOF     856     359     524
Lou Gehrig      HOF     1508    493     790     Hank Greenberg HOF      852     331     844
Gary Sheffield          1475    509     1171    Albert Pujols           811     366     570
Jimmie Foxx     HOF     1452    534     1311    Joe DiMaggio    HOF     790     361     369
Hank Aaron      HOF     1402    755     1383    Yogi Berra      HOF     704     358     414
Rafael Palmeiro         1353    569     1348    Chuck Klein     HOF     601     300     521

50 - 500 DOUBLES: Edgar Martinez recorded his 500th career double May 7, 2004 vs. New York, becoming just the 39th player in modern baseball history to collect 500 doubles…he finished his career with 514…Martinez collected 20 or more doubles in 11 consecutive years (1994-2004), and in 14 of his final 15 seasons (1990-92; 1994-04; limited to 7 doubles in 42 games played in 1993 by injuries).

Edgar is one of just four hitters with back-to-back seasons (52 each in 1995 and 1996) with more than 50 doubles in history. The others are George Burns (1926-27), Billy Herman (1935-36) and Joe Medwick (1936-37).

Most Career Doubles
35.     Ted Williams    HOF     525
36.     Willie Mays     HOF     523
37.     Ken Griffey Jr.-A               522
Ed Delahanty    HOF     522
39.     Garrett Anderson-A              516
40.     Joe Cronin      HOF     515
41.     Edgar Martinez          514
42.     Mark Grace              511
43.     Rickey Henderson        HOF     510

ALSO NOTEWORTHY…
*       4-time Sporting News All-Star: 1992, 1995, 1997, 2001
*       AL Player of the Month 5 Times: July 1992, Aug. 1992, June 1995, May 2000, May 2003
*       AL Player of the Week 7 Times: 7/8/91; 8/17/92; 6/25/95; 6/16/96; 9/5/99; 5/22/00; 8/5/02
*       2-time Mariners MVP by Seattle Chapter, BBWAA: 1992, 1995
*       Set the ALDS Record for Most Hits in a 5-game series with 12 vs. New York in 1995
*       Became 1st Player in ML history to collect 7 RBI in a post-season game (Game 4 of 1995 ALDS vs. New York)
*       9 Career Grand Slams (plus one in the post-season)
*       2 Career Three-Homer Games; 19 Career Two-Homer Games
*       Boasted a career average over .300 vs. 12 of the 13 other teams in the AL (.294 vs. Boston)
*       Was a career .625 hitter (10×16) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 RBI and 3 walks vs. Mariano Rivera (.700 on-base percentage, 1.188 slugging percentage = 1.888 OPS)

MVP BALLOTING: Had a pair of top-6 finishes in the American League MVP balloting and was five times in the top-16…here’s a look:
*       Finished  12th in 1992, despite playing on a last place team, and missing final 3 weeks after having surgery on shoulder.
*       Finished 3rd in 1995, despite splitting votes with teammates Jay Buhner (5th) and Randy Johnson (6th).
*       Finished 14th in 1997, despite splitting votes with teammates Ken Griffey Jr. (1st) and Randy Johnson (11th).
*       Finished 6th in 2000, despite splitting votes with teammate Alex Rodgriguez (3rd).
*       Finished 16th in 2001, despite splitting votes with teammates Ichiro Suzuki (1st), Bret Boone (3rd) and Mike Cameron (T16th).

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS: Edgar Martinez won five Silver Slugger Awards (1992, 1995, 1997, 2001 & 2003) making him one of just 26 players in history with five or more…Edgar is one of just 16 non-outfielders to win five or more Silver Slugger Awards…Edgar won one when he was predominantly a third baseman (1992) and four when he was predominantly a designated hitter.

# of Silver Sluggers - Player (position)
12- Barry Bonds (OF)
10- Mike Piazza (C), Alex Rodriguez (SS-7, 3B-3),
9 - Barry Larkin (SS),
8 - Wade Boggs (3B), Cal Ripken Jr. (SS), Manny Ramirez (OF),
7 - Albert Belle (OF), Ken Griffey Jr. (OF), Vladimir Guerrero (OF), Tony Gwynn (OF), Ivan Rodriguez (C), Ryan Sandberg (2B),
6 - Juan Gonzalez (OF), Lance Parris (C), Kirby Puckett (OF), Mike Schmidt (3B), Sammy Sosa (OF),
5 - Edgar Martinez (3B-1, DH-4), Albert Belle (OF), Craig Biggio (C-1, 2B-4), Gary Carter (C), Julio Franco (2B-4, DH-1), Mike
Hampton (P), Jorge Posada  (C), Dave Winfield (OF)

IN THE COMMUNITY
Following the 2004 season, Edgar received the Roberto Clemente Award, the MLB award that recognizes the player who combines a dedication to giving back to the community with outstanding skills on the baseball field. Martinez was the first Puerto Rican player to win the award.

In 2007 Edgar was inducted to the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame along with Dikembe Mutombo (NBA) and Kyle Petty (NASCAR).  This Hall of Fame, located in Boise, ID, recognizes individuals and organizations from the world of amateur and pro athletics who, through their humanitarian efforts, distinguish themselves as role models in the community.

EDGAR MARTINEZ YEAR-BY-YEAR…

YEAR    AVG     G       AB      R       H       2B      3B      HR      RBI     BB      SO      SB      CS      OBP     SLG     OPS
1987    .372    13      43      6       16      5       2       0       5       2       5       0       0       .413    .581    .994
1988    .281    14      32      0       9       4       0       0       5       4       7       0       0       .351    .406    .758
1989    .240    65      171     20      41      5       0       2       20      17      26      2       1       .314    .304    .619
1990    .302    144     487     71      147     27      2       11      49      74      62      1       4       .397    .433    .830
1991    .307    150     544     98      167     35      1       14      52      84      72      0       3       .405    .452    .857
1992    *.343   135     528     100     181     *46     3       18      73      54      61      14      4       .404    .544    .948
1993    .237    42      135     20      32      7       0       4       13      28      19      0       0       .366    .378    .744
1994    .285    89      326     47      93      23      1       13      51      53      42      6       2       .387    .482    .869
1995    *.356   *145    511     *121    182     *52     0       29      113     116     87      4       3       *.479   .628    *1.107
1996    .327    139     499     121     163     52      2       26      103     123     84      3       3       .464    .595    1.059
1997    .330    155     542     104     179     35      1       28      108     119     86      2       4       .456    .554    1.009
1998    .322    154     556     86      179     46      1       29      102     106     96      1       1       *.429   .565    .993
1999    .337    142     502     86      169     35      1       24      86      97      99      7       2       *.447   .554    1.001
2000    .324    153     556     100     180     31      0       37      *145    96      95      3       0       .423    .579    1.002
2001    .306    132     470     80      144     40      1       23      116     93      90      4       1       .423    .543    .966
2002    .277    97      328     42      91      23      0       15      59      67      69      1       1       .403    .485    .888
2003    .294    145     497     72      146     25      0       24      98      92      95      0       1       .406    .489    .895
2004    .263    141     486     45      128     23      0       12      63      58      107     1       0       .342    .385    .727
Totals  .312    2055    7213    1219    2247    514     15      309     1261    1283    1202    49      30      .418    .515    .933

* Led American League