Home > Edgar Martinez

In 1982, the Seattle Mariners signed Martinez to a minor league contract, where he would play in such locations as Chattanooga and Calgary. He would later play for the major league team beginning in 1987. He started out as a third baseman, winning a American League batting title in 1992. After a series of injuries, he became a full-time DH in 1995. To date, he is the only DH ever to have won a batting title (in 1995 with a .356 average).

Though born in New York, Martinez returned to his family's native Puerto Rico in 19651965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). Events January-February January 4 United States President Lyndon Johnson proclaims his " Great Society" during his State of the Union address. January 14 Prime Ministers of N when his parents divorced. He grew up in DoradoDorado is a small touristic town in the northern coast of Puerto Rico, west of San Juan, Catano, and Bayamon. Dorado has long been known as a golf haven. Its touristic industry includes the Dorado Beach Resort and the El Cerromar Hotel, as well as Dorado and graduated from American College . (He speaks EnglishThe English language is a West Germanic language, originating from England. It is the third most common "first" language (native speakers), with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the mil with a thick SpanishThis article is about the international language known as Spanish. For other languages spoken in Spain see Languages of Spain Spanish is an Iberian Romance language, and the third or fourth most spoken language in the world. It is spoken as a first langua accentAn accent is the perceived peculiarities of pronunciation and intonation of a speaker or group of speakers. For native speakers, accent is one of the components of a spoken variety, as a dialect. See also Distinguishing accents in English. A foreign accen as a result.) A beloved figure in SeattleSeattle is the largest city in the U. state of Washington, and in the U. Pacific Northwest, with a total estimated population of 569,101 as of 2003. It is situated between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 108 miles (180 km) south of the Canadian bor, he currently lives in Kirkland, WashingtonKirkland is a city located in King County, Washington. It is a suburb of Seattle located on the Eastside (of Lake Washington). As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 45,054. Notable features of the town include its downtown, located on with his wife and children, and owns the CaribbeanThe Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. These islands curve southward from the bottom tip of Florida to the Northwest of Venezuela in South America. There are at least 7000 islands, islets, reefs and cayes in the regio Embroidery Company in Redmond, Washington.

His eighteen seasons with the Mariners have won him seven All-Star nominations, along with two batting titles and four Silver Slugger awards. He is most remembered for his performance in the 1995 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees. In that series, he hit a grand slam off John Wetteland in game 4 that gave the Mariners a 10-6 lead en route to an 11-8 victory. The win knotted the best-of-five series at two games apiece and forced game 5. In the 11th inning of that decisive game, Martinez hit a two-run double off Jack McDowell that won the game for the Mariners, 6-5. Baseball lore says that Edgar Martinez "saved Seattle baseball" with that double. While his series-winning hit did help build the groundswell that the Washington State Legislature eventually had to respond to (by enacting legislation to fund Safeco Field), it was one of many moments in a "miracle run" by the Mariners in September and October 1995 that changed public sentiment towards the team and towards public financing of a baseball-only stadium as a partial replacement for the Kingdome.

Since some baseball critics argue that since he has spent nearly his entire career as a designated hitter, his possible induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame is controversial. The recent inductions of Paul Molitor and Eddie Murray, however, seems to discredit this argument. Martinez was not given regular playing time in the major leagues until 1990 (when he was 27), despite hitting extremely well in the minors. Therefore, he has not amassed the totals for hits (Edgar has fewer than 2,300) and home runs (slightly over 300) that many associate with a Hall of Fame slugger.

The MLB award given annually for the best designated hitter is named the Edgar Martinez Award.