Edgar Martínez
Edgar Martínez, 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. 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.Martinez became inspired to play baseball after watching fellow Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente play in the 1971 World Series. He began playing in youth leagues when he was 11. He played with his older cousin Carmelo Martínez in the backyard of his home. Scouts watched Carmelo with interest, but Edgar did not draw their attention. He attended Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, studying business administration. He played semi-professional baseball and worked two jobs, as a supervisor in a furniture store by day and in a General Electric factory at night.
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. Despite nearly missing the tryout after a long night working at the factory and being "so tired couldn't swing the bat," the Mariners signed him to a contract with a $4,000 signing bonus on December 12, 1982, shortly before his 20th birthday. He initially considered declining the offer, due to the money he was making in Puerto Rico, but Carmelo convinced him to sign.Martínez made his professional debut in Minor League Baseball with the Bellingham Mariners of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League in 1983 as a third baseman. He had a.173 batting average, no home runs and only 18 hits in 32 games. He struggled with speaking English early in his career. The scout who signed Martínez convinced Mariners general manager Hal Keller to assign him to the Arizona Instructional League after the season. Keller did not believe Martínez would be able to hit in the major leagues and initially did not want to assign him to the AIL, which is reserved for the best prospects. Keller included Martínez in the AIL that year, where he batted.340.
In 1984, Martínez batted.303 with 15 home runs and 84 walks for the Wausau Timbers of the Class A Midwest League. Martínez played for the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Double-A Southern League and Calgary Cannons of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 1985, batting.258 in 111 games for Chattanooga and.353 in 20 games for Calgary. He returned to Chattanooga in 1986 and had a.960 fielding percentage, which led all third basemen. Playing for Calgary in 1987, Martínez had a.327 batting average, 10 home runs, and 31 doubles in 129 games. He led Calgary in batting average, hits, doubles, games played, and walks.
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. However, the Mariners were committed to using Jim Presley as their third baseman. 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, where he hit.363, the best batting average in the PCL. In September, he was called up again, and over 10 games hit.389. In his second MLB season, he hit.281 with a.351 on-base percentage and a.406 slugging percentage over 14 games.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. He hit.345 over 32 games for the Cannons and.240 in 65 games for the Mariners that season. After the regular season, Martínez played winter baseball in the Puerto Rican Baseball League. He batted.424 in 43 games, leading the league, and was named co-MVP with Carlos Baerga.
First full seasons and batting title (1990–1992)
In 1990, Martínez signed a one-year contract for $90,000. With Presley gone, Darnell Coles began the season as the Mariners' starting third baseman. Manager Jim Lefebvre told The Seattle Times during spring training: "I think Darnell Coles is going to surprise a lot of people. He knows there is no one in the wings, just Edgar Martinez to back him up." However, Coles committed five errors in Seattle's first six games. Lefebvre moved Coles to the outfield and began playing Martínez at third base. Over 144 games, Martínez hit.302, and had a.397 OBP, both of which led the team. He dealt with leg injuries during the season and had right knee surgery following the season.Martínez signed a two-year, $850,000 contract before the 1991 season. That year, he won his first American League Player of the Week Award for the week ending July 14. 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. He missed the last 19 games of the season, undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs in his right shoulder in September. Martínez had a.343 batting average in 1992, which led the majors. It was the first batting title for Seattle and the franchise's highest single-season batting average. Martínez also tied Frank Thomas for the most doubles in MLB and set a team record for most doubles in a season. 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.Career year (1995)
Martínez became a full-time designated hitter in 1995. He won the a Player of the Week Award and later Player of the Month Award for June, with a.402/.537/.761 slash line that month. He was then selected to the All-Star Game and set career highs in eleven offensive categories. At the end of the year, he won his second AL batting title with a team-record.356 and led the league in runs scored with 121, doubles with 52, OBP with.479 and on-base plus slugging with 1.109. He also finished third in AL Most Valuable Player Award voting behind Mo Vaughn and Albert Belle. He won his second Silver Slugger Award and his first Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.The Double
In the 1995 American League Division Series 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 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 for the first time in franchise history, a series they would eventually lose to the Cleveland Indians in six games.The double entered baseball lore, referred to as "The Double", by Mariners fans. The Mariners' 1995 postseason run helped build the groundswell of public support that led the Washington State Legislature to pass legislation to fund a dedicated baseball stadium in Seattle to replace the Kingdome. Mariners' manager Lou Piniella referred to it as "the hit, the run, the game, the series and the season that saved baseball in Seattle." At a rally after the series, fans held up a banner calling Martínez "Señor October".