Seattle Mariners great Edgar Martinez, the man who redefined the role of the modern-day designated hitter, enters the Hall of Fame.
The iconic Edgar Martinez, a lifelong member of the Seattle Mariners, will give his former team the only thing they have had to celebrate all season long when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame today.
Martinez is someone I liken to John Stockton of the Utah Jazz in the fact that all were highly successful, stayed with the same team for the entirety of their careers and just never quite got over the hump of winning it all. I would add that both icons are probably the most beloved icons in both franchises’ history.
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Martinez was one of those guys who quietly went about his business. You never heard him causing fights or yelling at the opponents. He was the symbol of sportsmanship in the game. He came, got his job done and that was it.
Over the course of his illustrious 18-year career, Martinez put together some amazing numbers. The 7-time All-Star has a career slash line of .312/.418/.515 with 1,261 RBI’s, 1,283 walks, 309 home runs and 1,219 runs scored.
The stat that draws me in the most is his walks and let me explain why. Martinez was only intentional walked 113 times in his career, which means that 1,170 times in his career he drew a walk. He struck out only 1,202 times in his career. The man had a great eye in the batter’s box.
Compare those to the numbers for Nelson Cruz of the Minnesota Twins, a current DH. He has career totals of 585 walks compared to 1,519 strikeouts, almost a 2-1 ratio in 15 seasons.
This is what Seattle Mariners legend Edgar Martinez did that separate him from other DH’s in the game then and now. You could count on him getting a timely hit, or if the pitch wasn’t there, at least getting on base. In the era of the strikeout that is a lot more than you can expect of batters today.