Edgar Martínez Award


The Edgar Martínez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, commonly referred to as the Edgar Martínez Award and originally known as the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, has been presented annually to the most outstanding designated hitter in Major League Baseball since 1973. The award is voted on by club beat reporters, broadcasters, and public relations departments. The Associated Press discontinued the award in 2000, but it was picked up by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, which has administered it since. All players with a minimum of 100 at bats at DH are eligible. From the award's inception in 1973 until 2019, and in 2021, use of the designated hitter was allowed only in the American League.
In September 2004, at Safeco Field ceremonies in honor of Edgar Martínez, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that the award would be renamed for the five-time recipient. In an 18-year career with the Seattle Mariners, primarily as a designated hitter, Martínez batted.312, with 309 career home runs and 1,261 runs batted in.
In 2020, MLB allowed the use of the designated hitter for the National League in addition to the AL, expanding eligibility for the award to designated hitters in either league. The 2020 winner was Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves, who became the first-ever winner of the award from the NL. In 2021, MLB returned to only using the designated hitter for the AL, before a new collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players' union allowed the use of the designated hitter in the NL beginning in the 2022 season.
In 2021, Shohei Ohtani became the first player to win both the Edgar Martínez Award and the AL MVP award in the same season. He accomplished this feat again after the 2023 season. In 2024, Ohtani became the second player to win the award from the NL and the only player to win the award in both leagues.

Multiple-time winners

Ten players have won the award multiple times. David Ortiz has won the award eight times, more than any other player. Other repeat winners of the award include Martinez himself, five-time winner Shohei Ohtani, three-time winner Hal McRae, and two-time winners Willie Horton, Greg Luzinski, Don Baylor, Harold Baines, Dave Parker, Paul Molitor, and Nelson Cruz. Ohtani has the most wins of any active player. Boston Red Sox players have won the most Edgar Martínez Awards with 11.
Player# of AwardsYears
82003–2007, 2011, 2013, 2016
51995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001
*52021–2025
31976, 1980, 1982
21975, 1979
21981, 1983
21978, 1988
21989, 1990
21993, 1996
22017, 2019