This afternoon in Cooperstown, New York, longtime Seattle Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum along with five other players from the past several decades. This is a part of a series of six articles about “induction Sunday” which highlight the exploits, the Hall of Fame moments if you will, of the six inductees. Most of the moments will have video clips that you can play, thanks to the miracle of YouTube.
Ranking these moments from 1 to 10 is a highly subjective process so I’m going to go through each player’s career chronologically. When it comes to Martinez, however, I think picking the #1 moment would have unanimous agreement between yours truly and you the readers.
In the process of researching each player’s big moments, I came up with a few more than 10 for most of them. I’ll mention these “bonus” great moments because I found them interesting to know about it (or remember) and I think you will too.
Enjoy!
(cover photo: Associated Press/Ed Zurga)
Edgar Martinez’ Early Career (1987-94)
As a Hall of Famer, Edgar Martinez was a late bloomer. He only played three full-time seasons in the majors before his 32nd birthday, making just one All-Star game along the way (in 1992). Like the Mariners team, Edgar didn’t get on the national radar until the magical 1995 season.
Martinez had several big and interesting moments in his first 8 seasons but none for which I could find video. Anyway, here are some milestones and big hits from Edgar’s early years.
- Sept. 14, 1987: in his second career game (and second career at bat), Edgar hit a 2nd inning lead-off triple to center field against the Cleveland Indians’ Reggie Ritter for his first MLB hit.
- May 6, 1989: after 142 plate appearances spanning parts of three seasons, Martinez hit his first big league home run, a 2-run blast off the Baltimore Orioles’ Jeff Ballard. Edgar opened the season as the M’s starting third baseman but battled for time with veteran Jim Presley. Ultimately, Martinez didn’t seem ready for prime time and spend most of the season on the bench or in the minors.
- Sept. 30, 1989: in the team’s second to last game, Edgar came off the bench defensively in the 9th inning and, in his first at bat in the bottom of the 10th, delivered a walk-off single off Jeff Reardon of the Minnesota Twins to give Seattle a 2-1 victory.
- May 20, 1990: Presley was gone in 1990 and, at the age of 27, Edgar was finally Seattle’s full-time first sacker. His first big moment occurred on May 20th in Cleveland. In the top of the 10th, with the score tied at 10, he hit a 2-run HR off the Indians’ Jesse Orosco to give Seattle a 8-6 lead. It was his 7th career HR (and his 2nd of the game).
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #1: August 28, 1990 (Tigers at Mariners)
This was not a game with pennant race implications but it gave Edgar Martinez a momentous turn at bat. Both the Mariners and Tigers were under .500. In what would be his final season in Detroit, future Hall of Famer Jack Morris tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball to give his team a 3-2 lead, a lead that held until the 9th inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Martinez hit a 2-run walk-off HR (off reliever Paul Gibson) for a 4-3 win. So, when Morris looks back at his 254 career victories, he can remember this as one that got away.
Surprisingly, this would be the only walk-off tater of Edgar’s Hall of Fame career.
For the record, Martinez was 2-for-4 against Morris on this evening (with a run scored on a Ken Griffey Jr. 2-run blast). However, overall, he logged a lowly .634 OPS against the mustachioed right-hander in 23 career plate appearances. As we’ll see, Edgar had much more success against his fellow 2019 inductees.
Sorry, no video for this moment or the next one.
Because the next two moments did not result in Mariners’ victories, I’m not calling them “Hall of Fame moments” but they’re noteworthy because these were two big games for Martinez against two of those fellow Hall of Famers who will be recognized this Sunday.
Bonus Moment: May 2, 1992: Edgar Martinez v Mike Mussina
In early 1992, Edgar Martinez was a 29-year old veteran who had done absolutely nothing in his career that would make anybody think he had a plaque waiting for him in Cooperstown 27 years later. On May 2, the Mariners were in Baltimore to face 2nd year starter Mike Mussina, who was making just his 17th MLB start. Mussina, at the age of 23, was a star in the making, a first-round draft pick who had been a College World Series champion at Stanford.
Coming into the game, Mussina had a career record of 7-5 with a 2.75 ERA. The Orioles were 16-8, owning the best record in the American League. The O’s pounded M’s starter Rich DeLucia for 6 runs in the first two innings. In the top of the 3rd, after two singles and an error, Martinez hit two-run triple. Edgar scored subsequently on a ground out by Kevin Mitchell. The M’s had cut the lead to 6-4.
The next time up, with two outs and nobody on, Martinez tripled again but was stranded at 3rd base. With the score 7-4 in favor of Balitmore in the top of the 8th, Edgar led off with a single, his third hit of the game. That hit sent Mussina to the showers although the bullpen would hold the lead and give Moose a 4-0 record.
Martinez only managed 15 triples in his career; these were the 6th and 7th. He only had 8 more.
Both Mussina and Martinez earned their first All-Star berths in 1992. For the season, it was a breakout campaign for the M’s third baseman. He led the majors with a .343 average and 46 doubles while posting a park-adjusted 164 OPS+.
In his career, Martinez hit .307 with a .964 OPS against Mussina, which included those two triples plus two doubles, 5 home runs and 17 RBI. The 5 taters and 17 ribbies are the most that Edgar would have against any pitcher that he ever faced. Those 5 long balls included two in the 1997 Division Series (this one was in Game 1).
Bonus Moment: June 11, 1995: Edgar Martinez v Mariano Rivera
On this day at Yankee Stadium, a 25-year old right-hander from Panama was making his fourth MLB start for the New York Yankees. That Panamanian righty’s name was Mariano Rivera. Rivera had struggled to a 9.24 ERA in his first three efforts. This game, a Sunday afternoon tilt, would go no better. In the top of the first inning, the first two Mariners batters reached against the young Yankee. Martinez made him pay, taking Rivera deep for a 3-run home run in his first plate appearance against the future Hall of Famer.
If you want to re-watch this or any other clip after it’s finished, hit the re-fresh button on the bottom left of the frame.
Ultimately, Rivera gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits in 2.1 innings of work. Young Mariano was sent to the minors after that outing. Miraculously, Rivera returned 23 days later with new life on his fastball. He pitched 8 innings of scoreless ball with 11 strikeouts in his return, on July 4th.
Although Rivera would become the greatest relief pitcher in the history of the game, Edgar owned him on this day and the days and nights that would follow. In 23 career plate appearances against the Great Mariano, Edgar hit .579 with a stunning 1.705 OPS. The only pitcher that Martinez faced more than 20 times against whom he posted a higher OPS was Kevin Gross (2.035 OPS in 21 PA).
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #2. October 7, 1995: ALDS Game 4 (Yankees v Mariners)
The 1995 Seattle Mariners captured the imagination of America with a 16-5 stretch run that allowed them to tie the California Angels for a share of the American League West title. On the day after the scheduled end of the regular season, the M’s hosted the Angels at the Kingdome and, behind a complete game effort from their 6 foot 10 inch ace Randy Johnson, walloped the Halos 9-1 to secure the franchise’s first trip to the postseason.
In the final 13 games of the season (including the tie-breaker game), Edgar Martinez hit .396 with a 1.068 OPS. For the season, Edgar led the the A.L. with a .356 BA and led the majors with a .479 OBP, 1.107 OPS, 185 OPS+ and 52 doubles.
Because of the strike that canceled the 1994 postseason, 1995 was the first year of the expanded playoffs, with three division winners and a Wild Card team. This American League Division Series matchup between the Mariners and Yankees was highly anticipated for several reasons. It was the Mariners’ first postseason appearance and the first for the Yankees since 1981, an uncharacteristically long playoff drought for the sport’s most successful franchise.
It was also the first postseason opportunity for the Yankees beloved veteran first baseman (Don Mattingly) and for the game’s greatest young star (Ken Griffey Jr.). The first two games were at Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Bombers won both of them, the second one in 15 innings on a walk-off home run by catcher Jim Leyritz. In those first two losses, Martinez went 6 for 10 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.
Because Johnson had pitched on Monday, he was unavailable to start Games 1 or 2 but was on the bump for Game 3 at the Kingdome, the first of what would be 3 elimination games for the M’s. The Big Unit delivered 7 innings of 2 run ball, leading Seattle to a 7-4 victory.
It was in Game 4 that Edgar Martinez first put the word “Fame” in his Hall of Fame career. It looked bleak early for Seattle, with the Yankees tagging starter Chris Bosio for 5 runs in 3 innings. In the bottom of the 5th, with the M’s trailing 5-0, Joey Cora and Griffey led off the inning with two singles against Yankees starter Scott Kamieniecki. The next batter (Martinez) hit a 3-run homer to left field to get the M’s back into the game, down by only two runs.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #3. October 7, 1995: ALDS Game 4 (Yankees v Mariners)
The next Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment occurred 5 innings later, in the bottom of the 8th inning. The score was tied at 6 but Yankees’ closer John Wetteland loaded the bases on a walk, bunt base hit and hit batsman. That brought Martinez to the plate with nowhere to put him. On a 2-2 pitch, Edgar hit a grand slam home run over the center field wall to break the tie and give the Mariners a 10-6 lead.
The M’s would go on to win 11-8 to tie the series at 2 games apiece and force a decisive Game 5.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame #4. October 8, 1995: ALDS Game 5 (Yankees v Mariners)
If I could only re-watch 10 baseball games for the rest of my life, this would be one of them. Game 5 was a classic sea-saw battle. Behind veteran David Cone, the Yankees had a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the 8th inning. The second batter of the inning (Griffey) homered to cut the lead to one. After getting the second out, Cone gave up a walk, a single and two more walks, the last a bases-loaded free pass to pinch hitter Doug Strange which tied the game at 4.
It was a heart-breaking disappointment for Cone, who manned up for 147 pitches in the effort. Yankees manager Buck Showalter brought in his young starter-turned-reliever named Mariano Rivera to get out of the jam and Rivera struck out Mike Blowers on three pitches.
In the top of the 9th, when closer Norm Charlton allowed the first two runners to reach, Mariners skipper Lou Piniella rolled the dice and brought back his ace (Johnson) on one day of rest to get out of the jam. The Big Unit did exactly that, retiring the next three batters before striking out the side in the 10th. In the top of the 11th, the Yankees scratched out a run against Johnson to take a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the 11th, with veteran starter Jack McDowell on the hill in his first ever relief appearance, Joey Cora led off with a bunt base hit. Griffey followed with a single that moved Cora to third.
The next batter was Edgar Martinez, who stroked a 0-1 pitch down the left field line. The hit immediately scored Cora with the tying run but it was hit so hard that it seemed impossible that Griffey could score from first. Junior, however, in a textbook exhibition of base running, cut the corners, flying around the diamond to score the winning run on Edgar’s game winning double. The Mariners had a 5-4 victory, a trip to the ALCS and, perhaps, a series that saved baseball for the city of Seattle.
Please enjoy this magnificent baseball play.
The previous clip (along with several others in this piece) feature the voice of longtime Mariners’ announcer Dave Niehaus, who was elected to the broadcasters’ wing of the Hall of Fame in 2008 as the Ford C. Frick Award winner.
This is one of those classic baseball moments that’s worth watching twice. Just as I equally enjoy the Jack Buck and Vin Scully calls of Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run off Dennis Eckersley, I love both the Niehaus call and the one from the “Baseball Network” TV announcer, Brent Musburger. “Big Game” Brent was never especially known for announcing baseball, but his call is great here too, worth another watch and listen.
Not every great story has a fairy tale ending. The Mariners were defeated in the ALCS by the Cleveland Indians in 6 games. After hitting .571 with a 1.667 OPS and 10 RBI in the ALDS, Edgar hit just .087 with no RBI and a .279 OPS against the Indians’ hurlers in the Championship Series. Still, 1995 was the season that Edgar Martinez became one of the game’s biggest stars.
“The Double” was of such great significance that it is specifically mentioned in the text of Edgar’s Hall of Fame plaque.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #5: July 3, 1996 (Postcript to “The Double”)
If you Google “The Double” with the word “Mariners” or “Baseball” you’ll get a Wikipedia page devoted to the play we just highlighted. The following year, on July 3, Martinez provided a sequel of sorts. In the bottom of the 9th inning against the Oakland Athletics, Edgar hit a line drive double down the right field line (off the A’s Carlos Reyes). Alex Rodriguez, the Mariners’ superstar 20-year old shortstop, dashed from first to home to score the winning run, giving Martinez and the M’s a walk-off win. Sorry, I couldn’t find video of this one.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #6: July 6, 1996: Mariners v Rangers
Three days after his walk-off double, Martinez had a power surge in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. Edgar hit three solo home runs to help the M’s to a 9-5 romp over the Rangers.
The observant reader/viewer may have noticed that the first two of Edgar’s three longballs came off the Rangers’ Kevin Gross, against whom Martinez logged a career OPS of 2.035.
Bonus Moment: May 28, 1998: Mariners v Devil Rays
Although he had 309 home runs in his career, Edgar Martinez is best known for hitting line drive singles and doubles and for his plate discipline. But Edgar could smash a baseball as well as anyone from time to time. In the first inning of a May 1998 game in Tampa Bay, he hit a massive 3-run home run to left field that hit the catwalk at Tropicana Field.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #7. July 29, 2000: Martinez v Roy Halladay
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the first full season at Safeco Field, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners were deadlocked at 5 heading into the bottom of the 13th inning.
Out of the Jays’ bullpen came an inconsistent 23-year old right-hander named Roy Halladay. This was not the same Halladay that will posthumously enter the Hall of Fame with Edgar on Sunday. He had lost his spot in the rotation less than a week earlier thanks to a 11.05 ERA in 13 appearances, 12 of them starts. In this game, Doc ran into a bit of bad luck. Rickey Henderson (yes, he was with the Mariners in 2000) led off with a ground ball single. A fielder’s choice on the ensuing sacrifice attempt put two runners on with no outs. Alex Rodriguez followed with a sharp single that loaded the bases for Martinez.
On a 2-1 pitch, Martinez hit a bouncing ball up the middle just out of the reach of shortstop Alex Gonzalez, scoring Henderson from third to deliver the M’s a 6-5 win. It was the last walk-off hit of Edgar’s career, one that sent Halladay temporarily packing back to minor leagues before he would resume what would turn into a Hall of Fame career of his own.
Overall, in 19 career plate appearances against Doc Halladay, Edgar hit .444 with a 1.196 OPS.
If you’re paying close attention, you’ll notice that Edgar Martinez had big hits that sent two of his fellow Class of 2019 Hall of Fame inductees packing to the minor leagues, this one occurring 5 years after a first-inning homer helped send Mariano Rivera back to AAA Columbus. We’ve also seen that Edgar tripled twice against Mike Mussina the first time those two Hall of Fame classmates met on the diamond.
Edgar Martinez v Lee Smith
Among the four pitchers being inducted this Sunday it was Lee Smith, the Eras Committee selection, who alone got the best of Edgar among those 2019 inductees. Although Martinez doubled off Smith (6/25/95) the first time they faced each other, Smith got the best of him in a key situation in early August (8/2/95). In the top of the 9th, with the M’s down 5-4, Martinez came up to the plate with the tying run on 2nd base. After fouling off a few pitches, Edgar launched a fly ball to deep right-center field that was caught by Jim Edmonds for the final out. It was the 459th out of 478 saves for Smith’s career.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #8: August 29, 2000: Yankees v. Mariners
Against the New York Yankees, the Mariners were down 3-1 with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Martinez, channeling a playoff game from five years prior, hit an opposite field grand slam off reliever Jeff Nelson to give the M’s a 5-3 lead (and an eventual win). It was his third grand slam of the season.
From a run production standpoint, 2000 was the most prolific season of Edgar’s career. He set career highs with 37 home runs and 145 RBI (the latter total led the American League).
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #9. October 3, 2000: ALDS Game 1 (Mariners v White S0x)
In Game 1 of the ALDS (in Chicago), the Mariners and White Sox were tied after 9 innings. In the top of the 10th inning, with the score tied at 4, Martinez hit a 2-run HR off Keith Foulke. John Olerud followed it up with a solo blast. The Mariners won it 7-4 in 10 innings and went on to sweep the White Sox in 3 games.
In the ALCS, however, the New York Yankees avenged their 1995 loss by defeating the M’s in 6 games.
Edgar Martinez Hall of Fame Moment #10. October 11, 2001: ALDS Game 2 (Indians v Mariners)
The 2001, the Seattle Mariners tied the all-time single season record with 116 regular season wins (against 46 losses). At 38, Edgar Martinez was still an offensive force, driving in 116 runs with a 160 OPS+. A 27-year old first year player from Japan (Ichiro Suzuki) dazzled fans on both sides of the Pacific with a rookie of the year and MVP campaign.
The Mariners were expected to finally make it to their first Fall Classic. However, in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, they were shut out 5-0 by Bartolo Colon and Bob Wickman in Game 1.
The opening loss gave urgency to Game 2 at Safeco. In the bottom of the 1st inning, after a 2-run tater from Mike Cameron, Martinez hit a two-run home run to dead center field off the Indians’ Chuck Finley to give the Mariners a commanding 4-0 lead.
The M’s would go on to win the ALDS in 5 games (with Edgar hitting .313 with 5 RBI and a 1.226 OPS). Sadly for Seattle fans, the three-time defending champion New York Yankees were too much for them in the ALCS, winning easily in 5 games.
This would be the last playoff appearance for both Edgar Martinez and the Seattle Mariners as a franchise.
Bonus Moments: Edgar Martinez’ final 3 MLB Seasons
The 2001 campaign was the last season that one would define as a Hall of Fame caliber season for Edgar Martinez. A career .319 hitter coming into the 2002 season, he hit .278 in his final 3 seasons. From 1992-2001 (a ten-year span), Martinez had a .993 OPS (which translates to a 159 OPS+, 59% above the MLB average). In those final 3 campaigns, his OPS was just .832 (a still respectable 122 OPS+ but not up to his previous standards).
In his final season (in 2004 at the age of 41), Edgar did achieve two milestones.
Bonus Moment: May 12, 2004: Mariners v Twins
Five days after collecting his 500th career double, Edgar Martinez swatted his 300th home run, a ninth-inning 3-run shot that cut a 4-run deficit into a one-run game (the M’s would go on to lose).
Bonus Moment: October 1, 2004: Rangers v Mariners
In the final series of the season for the 2004 Seattle Mariners, Edgar Martinez hit a 2-out single in the bottom of the 8th inning in a game in which the M’s held a 7-3 lead. Manager Bob Melvin lifted Martinez for a pinch runner. Edgar left to a standing ovation after what turned out to be his 2,247th and final MLB hit.
Postscript
On the last day of the 2004 season, the Mariners called it “Edgar Martinez Day.” At the same time, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that the annual Designated Hitter Award would be forever known as the Edgar Martinez Award.
Shortly after the season was concluded, Martinez became the first Puerto Rican to be awarded the Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable work in the Seattle community.
Today, with a throng of thousands of Mariners’ fans in attendance, Edgar Martinez accepted the honor of his induction to the Hall, which will now have a plaque with his visage in the same hall as his boyhood hero Clemente.
“Mariners fans, I am so fortunate to have two homes, Puerto Rico and Seattle. Seattle fans, thank you for always being there for me. Since 1987 you gave me your unconditional support and it was even more prevalent in the last 10 years. The support you gave me through social media helped me to get here today. Thank you Mariners fans. You are the best fans that I could ever hope for. I am so glad that I stayed with you until the end of my career. I love you Seattle fans. Thank you.”
— Edgar Martinez (Hall of Fame induction speech, July 21, 2019)
For more on what made Edgar Martinez a worthy Hall of Famer, I invite you to enjoy this piece fully detailing his Cooperstown Cred.
Thanks for reading. Please follow Cooperstown Cred on Twitter @cooperstowncred.
