Edgar Martínez

Edgar Martínez (born January 2, 1963), nicknamed "Gar" and "Papi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player who is currently the senior director of hitting strategy coach for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as a designated hitter and third baseman for Seattle from 1987 to 2004. He served as the Mariners' hitting coach from 2015 to 2018 and returned to the position in August 2024. He has also been a hitting advisor with the Mariners from 2019 through 2024.

Martínez grew up in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Not highly regarded as a prospect, he signed with the Mariners as a free agent in 1982, and was given a small signing bonus. He made his major league debut in 1987 but did not establish himself as a full-time player until 1990, at age 27. In the 1995 American League Division Series, he hit "The Double", which won the series and increased public support for Mariners baseball as they attempted to fund a new stadium. He continued to play until 2004, when injuries forced him to retire. MLB's award for the best designated hitter was renamed the Edgar Martínez Award in 2004 before his retirement.

Martínez was a seven-time MLB All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, and two-time batting champion. He is one of 15 MLB players to record a batting average of .300, an on-base percentage of .400, and a slugging percentage of .500 in 8,500 or more plate appearances. The Mariners retired his uniform number 11 and inducted him into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame. In 2019, Martínez was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Early life

Martínez was born in New York City on January 2, 1963, to José and Christina Salgado Martínez, who were from Puerto Rico. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and he was raised by his grandparents, who lived in the barrio of Maguayo in Dorado, Puerto Rico. When he was 11 years old, his parents reconciled. His brother and sister returned to New York to live with their parents, but Edgar opted to remain in Dorado with his grandparents.

Playing career

Prospect (1982–1987) At the suggestion of the owner of his semi-professional team, Martínez attended a tryout held by the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite nearly missing the tryout after a long night working at the factory and being "so tired [he] couldn't swing the bat," the Mariners signed him to a contract with a $4,000 signing bonus (a small amount at the time) on December 12, 1982, shortly before his 20th birthday. He struggled with speaking English early in his career.

Early career (1987–1989) Martínez made his major league debut on September 12, 1987 as a third baseman and proceeded to hit .372 in 13 games that season. In 1988, Martínez began the season with Calgary but was called up to the major leagues in early May. He played in four games with the Mariners before returning to Calgary,

The Mariners named Martínez their starting third baseman on their Opening Day roster in 1989. He struggled and was sent back down to Calgary in May. Lefebvre moved Coles to the outfield and began playing Martínez at third base. He dealt with leg injuries during the season and had right knee surgery following the season. He finished the season hitting .307/.405/.452, all career highs at the time. In 1992, Martínez was selected to his first All-Star Game and won his first two AL Player of the Month Awards for July and then August. In August, he signed a three-year, $10 million contract extension with Seattle, the largest contract given out by Seattle to that point. It was the first batting title for Seattle and the franchise's highest single-season batting average (since surpassed by Ichiro Suzuki). Martínez also tied Frank Thomas for the most doubles in MLB and set a team record for most doubles in a season (since surpassed by Alex Rodriguez). After the season, Martínez was awarded his first AL Silver Slugger Award as a third baseman.

Injuries (1993–1994) During an exhibition game at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia before the 1993 season, Martínez tore his hamstring on an unzipped seam in the turf between first and second base. He missed 42 games at the start of the season and was placed on the disabled list twice more during the season. In 1994, in his first plate appearance of the season, opposing pitcher Dennis Martínez hit him in the right wrist, and he returned to the disabled list. Between the injuries and the 1994–95 MLB strike, he played in 131 games during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. In 89 games in 1994, he played 65 games as a third baseman and 23 as a designated hitter, with one appearance as a pinch runner. He also finished third in AL Most Valuable Player Award voting behind Mo Vaughn and Albert Belle. He won his second Silver Slugger Award

The Double

In the 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS) against the New York Yankees, Martínez hit .571 and reached base 18 times in five games. In Game 4 of that series, he hit a three-run home run, then a grand slam home run that broke a 6–6 tie, en route to an 11–8 victory. His seven runs batted in (RBIs) in that game tied 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, Martínez hit a two-run double off Jack McDowell, winning the game for the Mariners, 6–5, and series, 3–2. The win sent the Mariners to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) for the first time in franchise history, a series they would eventually lose to the Cleveland Indians in six games. quote|A lot of people remember that double when they talk about my career, I'd say, yeah, that would define my career.|Edgar Martínez|ESPN: September 25, 2004. At a rally after the series, fans held up a banner calling Martínez "Señor October".

Continued success (1996–2001) In 1996, Martínez batted .327 and was selected for the MLB All-Star Game. He played one game at third base during the season, during which he collided with John Marzano, breaking four ribs and missing 21 games. On August 21, 1996, Martínez recorded his 1,000th career MLB hit. Martínez was selected to the 1997 MLB All-Star Game and won the Silver Slugger Award at the end of the 1997 season. He finished second in the AL with a .330 average. The Mariners made the 1997 ALDS, but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in four games. Martínez batted .188 in the series. and won his third Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. a condition which causes the eyes to not properly align. For Martínez, his right eye would intermittently drift and cause him to lose depth perception.

Later career (2002–2004)

Martínez dealt with leg injuries in 2002, playing in 97 games. He left a game after pulling his hamstring and had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left knee. Though he was batting .301 on September 8, he entered a slump late in the season and ended the year with a .277 batting average. In 2003, Martínez again dealt with hamstring injuries. He batted .304 in the first half of the season and was named to the All-Star Game. On May 2, Martínez had his 2,000th career hit. He broke a toe when it was hit by a foul ball in September, which limited him for the rest of the season.

In 2004, Martínez struggled with a sore back, leg injuries, and difficulties with his eyesight. On August 9, Martínez announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season. Martínez said this about his choice of retiring and career in Seattle:

On October 2, the Mariners held "Edgar Martínez Day." Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that the league's Outstanding DH Award would be renamed after Martínez, and Washington governor Gary Locke named the following week "Edgar Martínez Week" in the state. Martínez won the Roberto Clemente Award after the 2004 season.

Career statistics In 2,055 games over 18 seasons, Martínez posted a .312 batting average with 1,219 runs, 514 doubles, 15 triples, 309 home runs, 1,261 RBI, 49 stolen bases, 1,283 walks, a .418 on-base percentage, and a .515 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded an overall .952 fielding percentage primarily as a third baseman. In 34 postseason games, he batted .266 (34-for-128) with 16 runs, 7 doubles, 8 home runs, 24 RBI and 19 walks.

Legacy Edgar Martínez's number 11 was retired by the Seattle Mariners in 2017. Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera, when asked whether there was anyone he was afraid to face, said that he was never afraid, but "I will put it like this: The only guy that I didn't want to face, when a tough situation comes, was Edgar Martínez. The reason is because I couldn't get him out. (laughs) I couldn't get him out. It didn't matter how I threw the ball. I couldn't get him out. Oh, my God, he had more than my number. He had my breakfast, lunch and dinner. He got everything from me." Versus Rivera, Martínez was able to log a .579 batting average, with 11 hits during 19 at bats. Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martínez (no relation) also named Edgar Martínez as one of the toughest hitters he had to pitch against in his career because, Pedro said, he was very disciplined at the plate and "would foul off pitches that would wipe out anybody else."

Martínez was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on September 9, 2003, in a pregame on field ceremony at Safeco Field. In October 2004, following his retirement, a section of South Atlantic Street (State Route 519) in Seattle adjacent to Safeco Field was renamed Edgar Martínez Drive South. The street he grew up on in Dorado was renamed Edgar Martínez Street. MLB also renamed the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in Martínez's honor. Following his retirement, the Mariners did not issue Martínez' uniform number 11 to any other player. Under team policy, he was not eligible to have his uniform number formally retired until 2010, when he became eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time. and retired Martinez's #11 jersey on August 12, 2017.

First eligible to be elected into the Hall of Fame on the 2010 ballot, Martínez received 36.2% of the vote, far short of the 75% required for induction. While some sports writers felt that his batting numbers do not overcome the one-dimensional aspect of his career as a DH, others have compared this to the specialty of closers whose contribution to their teams victories resides on working one inning to preserve an advantage and the fact that these late inning relievers are not involved in other facets of the game such as hitting and base running. By the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, his ninth year on the ballot, Martínez's vote total increased to 70.4%. The 2019 ballot, his last chance for election by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, elected him to the Hall of Fame, appearing on 85.4% of the ballots cast. He became the second player to enter the Hall of Fame as a Mariner, after Ken Griffey Jr., and the sixth player to be elected in his final year of eligibility, after Red Ruffing, Joe Medwick, Ralph Kiner, Jim Rice, and Tim Raines. He entered the Hall with Rivera, who was elected in his first year of eligibility, along with the late Roy Halladay (first ballot, posthumous). named after Martínez, was built in barrio Higuillar in Dorado. Sustaining structural damages as a result of Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, a $700,000 restoration of the sports complex was completed in 2021. The complex hosts school sports competitions and has a baseball field, a track field, a basketball court, and a gym.

Coaching career On June 20, 2015, the Mariners hired Martínez as their hitting coach, replacing Howard Johnson. The team's offense improved from a .233 batting average and 3.4 runs scored per game in the 68 games coached by Johnson to a .260 average and 4.6 runs per game with Martínez in 94 games. Though Jerry Dipoto, newly hired as general manager, fired Lloyd McClendon as manager after the season, he retained Martínez. Martínez coached the Mariners through to the end of the 2018 season. Out of a desire to spend more time with his family, Martínez moved from hitting coach to a hitting advisor role with the Mariners organization after the 2018 season.

Following the firing of hitting coach Jarret DeHart and manager Scott Servais on August 22, 2024, the Mariners announced that Martínez would be the team's hitting coach for the rest of the season. The team's hitting, particularly by Julio Rodríguez, improved after Martínez returned. On November 25, the team replaced Martínez with Kevin Seitzer as the hitting coach, but Martínez would remain with the Mariners in overseeing the club's hitting program.

Personal life

Martínez met Holli (née) Beeler on a blind date in 1991; they married in October 1992. They live in Kirkland, Washington, with their three children.

Martínez and his wife Holli have contributed their time and money to Seattle Children's Hospital, including the Edgar Martínez Endowment for Muscular Dystrophy Research, established by the Mariners in honor of his retirement, and the Children's Hospital Annual Wishing Well Night at T-Mobile Park. Martínez has also supported the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, Overlake Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Wishing Star Foundation, United Way, Esperanza, Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Mariners Care. On June 20, 2007, Martínez was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise, Idaho.

Martínez has written two autobiographies. He wrote a children's book Edgar Martinez: Patience Pays with Greg Brown in 1992.

Martínez is one of the founders of Plaza Bank, founded in 2005 as Washington's first (The bank merged with United Business Bank in 2017. ) In 2006, Martínez co-founded Branded Solutions, a corporate merchandise category, with two executives from ImageSource. He sold the company to ImageSource in 2010. For the 2013 season, the Mariners worked with Martínez, local chef Ethan Stowell, and bartender Anu Apte to create "Edgar's Cantina" at Safeco Field.