Edgar Martinez is definitely a Hall of Famer. He is considered to be the greatest DH in MLB history and?

Question

because the DH is a position, he should get in just like players who play the field. Edgar Martinez, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Roger Hornsby and Lou Gehrig are the only players in MLB history with over 300 career HR's, 500 doubles, a career batting average .300 or higher, a career on-base percentage higher than .400 and a career slugging percentage higher than .500. Plus Edgar played his entire career - 1987-2004 with one team, the Seattle Mariners, which always looks good on paper. His career batting average was .312, 309 HR's, 1,261 RBI's, and 2,247 hits. And lets not forget, he played 591 games at 3B and 1B, besides his 1,412 games as DH. He was never involved in contract disputes, personal scandals, drug allegations or anything. He was a consumate professional and a great family man, role model of kids and the greater Seattle area. The HOF should honor those traits as well. I would say, he deserves it more than Baines. Also, Edgar won 2 batting titles.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/martied01.shtml


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Martinez

Is there a question, yes, are you stupid? I was making a case for him to be a Hall of Famer, because I know there are going to be a lot of naysayers out there who will say no because he was primarily a DH.

Answer 1

Of course Martinez should get in ahead of Baines - he was a far better player throughout his career. Two batting titles, three times leading the league in OBP, and some serious pop in his bat that allowed him to hit 300 homers.

I don't care about any of the extraneous stuff - playing with one team, being a good guy, and all that. All I care about is how Edgar performed, and he did that very well. I know that his playing DH will handicap him, but his hitting was so good that I don't think the lack of defensive contributions should prevent him from being inducted.

If I had a vote, I'd definitely check his name on the list. It will be interesting to see how the writers feel, but I believe that he'll get in.

Answer 2

I think that two things will work against Martinez making the Hall. Firstly, playing the bulk of his career as a DH will work against him. Say what you will, but a DH only plays half the game. That doesn't mean that a someone who primarily DHs CANT get a bust in Cooperstown, only that he has to be that much better than everyone else with the stick to make up for his lack of participation with his glove(remember: Bill Mazeroskis' stick was quite pedestrian, as was Phil Rizzutos'; and the only thing that stood out about Ozzies offensive game was his 580 stolen bags. Glove work counts!) One thing that you cant blame on Edgar is the late start that he got on his major league career. He didn't play a full major league season until 1990, at the advanced age of 27. If he had his first starting gig, say, four years earlier-which you might have expected for a player of his caliber-Edgar would have compiled gaudier lifetime stats, which would have given him a much better shot at making the Hall than he has now.

Answer 3

I'd vote for Martinez, and not even take but a few seconds to decide. DEVASTATING hitter, and occasionally the best player on his team, despite Griffey and Rodriguez being around. The "DH thing" doesn't matter to me at all. It's a real position, defense rarely factors into Hall consideration anyway (unless it is the player's big selling point -- Ozzie, Mazeroski, Ashburn), and the Hall takes "half players" already (they're called pitchers). And this man hit SO WELL, and consistently, that his lack of playing defense really doesn't matter. Martinez 2010.

Answer 4

The reason he won't make the HOF(at least definitely not 1st ballot) is not because he WAS a DH but because he was NOT a fielder. His numbers as a DH are not superior to other players who are not DH. In other words, he won't get in because as a DH its all about hitting and 300 homeruns in this era doesn't mean anything. Had he been a stellar defensive player he would be in with that kind of offensive production. He didn't hit 500 hrs or record 3,000 hits (the automatic entry passes) I'm not taking anything away from him, in the playoffs as a yankee fan I never wanted to pitch to him. But there are a lot of incredible players not in the HOF. He could be the best offensive player not to make it. The one thing he does have going for him is that he is arguably the best DH EVER.

Answer 5

ScubaSteve, are you from NJ? There is a softball team in town called scubasteves and you seem to be fron the greater ny area. Just wondering. I think Edgar will be the first DH to get in. While his numbers aren't huge, he was a nightmare to pitch to. Many guys in the HOF sucked on defense and they are in. Even though he didn't play D for a number of years, he also didn't have a hamstring or something like that so he couldn't really play D anymore. If the DH exists, you shouldn't fault anyone for being one.

Answer 6

Uh....what's the question?

Martinez is going to be a very tough call to make the HOF. More so than Paul Molitor or Baines, he'll be the first serious test of the value of a DH. Martinez only twice finished in the top 10 in MVP voting (third and sixth) and stopped playing defense in 1993. But most everyone will agree he has been one of the best pure hitters in the game.

Answer 7

Sorry chief. Edgar is not going to make the Hall of Fame. Yes he was a great hitter and I always liked the guy, but he did not play in the field, never won a World Series, never was MVP, and just was never the impact player that a Hall of Famer should be. If Edgar makes the Hall I will come over to your house and wash your car, all of them.

Answer 8

I don't mind his position of DH, after all, someone HAS to do it in the AL
In his 18 years though, 1/3 of those he played less than 100 games.
When he was on, he was on and he could make a team around him better.

I think I would vote for him, but, depending on competition, I don't think he will get in.

The .300, .400. 500 statistic is nice, but statistics can be spun to show favour in anything, 39% of people know that :)

Answer 9

Harold Baines was the better dh. Remember Paul Molitor and Robin Yount both finished their careers as dhs and still are in the hall. Edgar was good but lets remember he had the supporting cast of Griffey Jr, A-Rod and Randy Johnson which made him little known. The others I've mentioned have had outstanding careers but remember the baseball writers have all the votes

Answer 10

Is there a question here?

Martinez was a devastating hitter -- as a primary DH, that's the only thing on which he can hang his cap, but it lets him hang that cap HIGH. Even with Griffey and ARod wearing the same uni, Edgar's bat kept pace, or outperformed, both of them.

I'd vote for him for the Hall. I'd've voted for him for 1995 AL MVP. I'm disappointed he didn't get the season doubles record (stupid Piniella).

Here's hoping the writers see clearly come 2010. (He won't get first ballot, but it will give us a solid notion of his chance.)