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Edgar Martinez (born January 2, 1963 in New York, New York) is a longtime Major League Baseball player who plays for the Seattle Mariners, a team in the American League West division. Martinez is one of the strongest hitters in the Mariners' lineup and perhaps the greatest designated hitter (DH) in history.
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 but after a series of injuries, quickly became the DH in the Mariners lineup. 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 1965 when his parents divorced. He grew up in Dorado and graduated from American College. (He speaks English with a thick Spanish accent as a result.) A beloved figure in Seattle, he currently lives in Kirkland, Washington with his wife and children, and owns the Caribbean Embroidery Company in Redmond, Washington.
His seventeen seasons with the Mariners have won him seven All-Star nominations, along with numerous other awards for batting average, hits, runs-batted-in, and home runs.
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.
- August 9: Martinez announced that he would retire from baseball at the end of the season
- September 17: He got his 1,000th career run batted in as a designated hitter --a record for RBI at the position
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