I-70 Baseball Exclusives Classic Cooperstown Choices 2012

Cooperstown Choices: Edgar Martinez

Bill Ivie

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2012, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty seven men on the ballot this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2012 menu at the top of the page.

Tune in Saturday, January 7, 2012 as I-70 Baseball Radio will host a panel of writers discussing the Hall Of Fame Ballot in a 2-hour special.

In this article, we take a look at Edgar Martinez

Edgar Martinez
Martinez enjoyed an 18 season career and is the poster child for the Designated Hitter. He signed with the Seattle Mariners as an undrafted free agent in 1982, eventually making his debut for the club in 1987. His career would come to a close at the end of the 2004 season at the age of 41. This will be his third year on the ballot for induction.

Year Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1987 SEA 13 43 6 16 5 2 0 5 0 2 5 .372 .413 .581 .994 155
1988 SEA 14 32 0 9 4 0 0 5 0 4 7 .281 .351 .406 .758 109
1989 SEA 65 171 20 41 5 0 2 20 2 17 26 .240 .314 .304 .619 74
1990 SEA 144 487 71 147 27 2 11 49 1 74 62 .302 .397 .433 .830 132
1991 SEA 150 544 98 167 35 1 14 52 0 84 72 .307 .405 .452 .857 138
1992 SEA 135 528 100 181 46 3 18 73 14 54 61 .343 .404 .544 .948 164
1993 SEA 42 135 20 32 7 0 4 13 0 28 19 .237 .366 .378 .744 100
1994 SEA 89 326 47 93 23 1 13 51 6 53 42 .285 .387 .482 .869 121
1995 SEA 145 511 121 182 52 0 29 113 4 116 87 .356 .479 .628 1.107 185
1996 SEA 139 499 121 163 52 2 26 103 3 123 84 .327 .464 .595 1.059 166
1997 SEA 155 542 104 179 35 1 28 108 2 119 86 .330 .456 .554 1.009 165
1998 SEA 154 556 86 179 46 1 29 102 1 106 96 .322 .429 .565 .993 158
1999 SEA 142 502 86 169 35 1 24 86 7 97 99 .337 .447 .554 1.001 152
2000 SEA 153 556 100 180 31 0 37 145 3 96 95 .324 .423 .579 1.002 157
2001 SEA 132 470 80 144 40 1 23 116 4 93 90 .306 .423 .543 .966 160
2002 SEA 97 328 42 91 23 0 15 59 1 67 69 .277 .403 .485 .888 139
2003 SEA 145 497 72 146 25 0 24 98 0 92 95 .294 .406 .489 .895 141
2004 SEA 141 486 45 128 23 0 12 63 1 58 107 .263 .342 .385 .727 92
18 Seasons 2055 7213 1219 2247 514 15 309 1261 49 1283 1202 .312 .418 .515 .933 147
162 Game Avg. 162 569 96 177 41 1 24 99 4 101 95 .312 .418 .515 .933 147
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/29/2011.

Why He Should Get In
Martinez is the hope for all players that spend a majority of their career as Designated Hitters. By 1995 he had transitioned full time to that role for the Mariners and extended his career due to it. A fielder that was hobbled in the field, he found a career by hitting and hitting well. A career .312 batting average and 2247 hits demonstrates that ability. His numbers are low by most standards, but he is the bar by which the designated hitter standards are set.

Why He Should Not Get In
For a man that spent his career as a hitter, his numbers do not support the suggestion that he was a great one. He may have been one of the best designated hitters, but until voters can get a feel for what barometer to judge those players by, it will be hard to determine if Martinez was a great hitter or simply someone clinging to a few more years because he was in the American League.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

2 thoughts on “Cooperstown Choices: Edgar Martinez”

  2. Pingback: Cooperstown Choices: A Look At The Ballot | I-70 Baseball

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