Edgar Martínez

:"For the other professional baseball player named Edgar Martínez, see Edgar Martínez (pitcher)"Infobox MLB retired
name=Edgar Martínez
position=Designated hitter
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1963|1|2
city-state|New York|New York
debutdate=September 12
debutyear=by|1987
debutteam=Seattle Mariners
finaldate=October 3
finalyear=by|2004
finalteam=Seattle Mariners
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.312
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=309
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=1,261
teams=
* Seattle Mariners (by|1987-by|2004)
highlights=
* 7x All-Star selection (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003)
* 5x Silver Slugger Award winner (1992, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003)
* 2004 Roberto Clemente Award

Edgar Martínez, born January 2, 1963 in New York, New York, but raised in the Maguayo neighborhood of Dorado, Puerto Ricocite web |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/sports/mariners/edgarmartinez/final_years.html |title=Goodbye, Mr. Baseball: The Final Years (2002-present) |accessdate=2008-10-06 |last=Stone |first=Larry |coauthors=José Miguel Romero, Les Carpenter |date=2004-10-04 |work=The Seattle Times] , is a former longtime Major League Baseball player who retired at the end of the 2004 season. He is unique in that he spent his entire major-league career with the Seattle Mariners, in the American League West division.

Edgar Martínez, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, and Manny Ramirez are the only players in history with 300 home runs, 500 doubles, a career batting average higher than .300, a career on-base percentage higher than .400 and a career slugging percentage higher than .500.

Career

In December 19, 1982, the Seattle Mariners signed Martinez to a minor league contract. Martinez worked his way through the Mariners minor league system, making stops at Chattanooga and Calgary. Martinez made his major league debut in September 12, 1987, and finally became a fixture in the Mariners lineup in 1990, replacing Jim Presley at third. He began his career as a third baseman and won an American League batting title in 1992, but then he tore his hamstring during an exhibition game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, B.C. just before the 1993 season, and never fully recovered. [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/sports/mariners/edgarmartinez/finnigan.html The Seattle Times: Memories of Edgar ] ] Martinez became a full-time designated hitter in 1995. To date, he is the only DH ever to have won a batting title (in 1995 with a .356 average).

His eighteen seasons with the Mariners netted him seven All-Star appearances, along with two batting titles and five Silver Slugger awards. He finished first or second in on-base percentage (OBP) in 6 different years, and in the top 5 in the same category in 10 different years. Over the seven year span of 1995-2001 he was considered one of the most consistent right-handed hitters in the game. During this time he hit .329 with a .445 on-base percentage and a .574 slugging percentage for an OPS (On-base Plus Slugging) of 1.019. In 1996, he became only the fifth player in the 20th century to hit 50 doubles in two consecutive seasons. [ [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/M/Martinez_Edgar.stm Edgar Martínez | BaseballLibrary.com ] ] He is the Mariners' all-time leader in hits (2,247), doubles (514), walks (1,283), and games played (2,055). He is also among the top 10 in other categories including at-bats (7,213), runs (1,219), home runs (309), RBI (1,261), total bases (3,718) and extra base hits (838).

He is best remembered for his performance in the 1995 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees in which he hit .571 and was on base 18 times in 5 games. In game 4 of that series, he hit a three run homer, then a grand slam home run that gave the Mariners a 10-6 lead en route to an 11-8 victory. His RBI total in that game set 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, Martinez hit a two-run double (called "The Double" by Mariners fans) off Jack McDowell, winning the game for the Mariners, 6-5. .

During his career, Martinez was a Mariner fan favorite, playing his entire career with the team, and always being willing to sign autographs for fans. In October 2004, following his retirement, S. Atlantic Street in Seattle was renamed Edgar Martínez Drive. The Mariners have not issued Martinez' #11 jersey since he retired. Under Mariners' team policy, he will not be eligible to have his jersey formally retired until 2010 (when he is eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time, see below). However, it is highly unlikely that any Mariner will ever wear that number again.

He was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame on June 2, 2007. [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2003539505_webedgar24.html The Seattle Times: Mariners: Edgar Martínez to be inducted into Mariners' Hall of Fame ] ]

Martinez was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.

Humanitarian Leadership

Martinez has been honored for countless hours, funds, resources and contributions that he and his wife Holli have made available to Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle (www.seattlechildrens.org), 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 Safeco Field. Martinez 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 and Mariners Care. Because of his contributions, on June 20,2007, Martinez was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise, Idaho.

The Humanitarian Hall of Fame annually inducts individuals who are world-class in athletic ability, role models in their community, and have a strong record of humanitarian efforts. “The World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame is honored to include Kyle Petty, Dikembe Mutombo, and Edgar Martínez among its fraternity of role models,” said Larry Maneely, President, Board of Directors of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. “As humanitarians and community leaders they represent all that is good in sport and remind us of the importance of setting positive examples through community service for our peers and our youth.”

Personal life

Though born in New York, Martinez returned to his family's native Puerto Rico in 1965 when his parents divorced. He grew up in Dorado and graduated from American College in Puerto Rico (he speaks English with a mild Spanish accent as a result). A beloved figure in Seattle, he is now living in Bellevue, Washington, with his wife Holli and their three children: Alex, Tessa, and Jacqueline. He now runs Branded Solutions by Edgar Martínez, a byproduct of his family's embroidery business, in Redmond, Washington. [ [http://www.brandedsolutions.com Branded Solutions by Edgar Martínez ] ]

Edgar enjoyed some of his best seasons as a hitter after having been diagnosed with strabismus, an eye condition, in 1999. [The Sporting News, May 7, 2001] He overcame the condition through strenuous exercise and by avoiding some things such as watching movies.

He is the cousin of former outfielder/first baseman Carmelo Martínez.

Banking

Martinez is one of the founders of Plaza Bank, founded in 2005 as Washington's first Hispanic bank. [ [http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2005/12/26/focus6.html Launchers: risk takers who started companies or causes - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle): ] ]

Regular season stats

ee also

*Top 500 home run hitters of all time
*List of famous Puerto Ricans
*Players from Puerto Rico in MLB
*MLB designated hitter statistics
* List of Major League Baseball players with 2000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball doubles records
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
* List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
* List of Major League Baseball batting champions
* List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
* Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

References

External links

*baseballstats |br=m/martied01 |fangraphs=1086 |cube=M/edgar-martinez
* [http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sea/team/sea_player_bio.jsp?club_context=sea&playerid=118365 Bio at the official Mariners website]
* [http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0027/arts-martin.shtml "Seattle Weekly" article]
* [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/past/pp/martinezedgar/ Profile at Baseball Page]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/M/Martinez_Edgar.stm Page at Baseball Library]
* [http://www.brandedsolutions.com/ Branded Solutions]