Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Ken Griffey Jr. is a lock at this point to make the Hall of Fame. It would be quite shocking if somehow he didn’t make it this year. The Seattle Mariners have one more legend vying for a spot this year, his seventh year on the ballot. If he had been an everyday position player, he probably would have made it on his first or second try. He has a trophy named after him, awarded to the best designated hitter in the league each season, but somehow has not made it into the Hall of Fame yet. He is responsible for arguably the most memorable play in Mariners history, “The Double”. I’m talking about Edgar Martinez, of course.
Around this time of year, every year, I am reminded that one of the best hitters in MLB history is not in the Hall of Fame. Sure, there are other great hitters trying to make it to Cooperstown such as Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, but Martinez was not once involved in any steroids scandal (unlike Bonds and McGwire). Of course, the argument has been made that he played DH most of his career, but he wouldn’t be the first DH in the Hall of Fame.
In 2014, Frank Thomas was seen as the first true DH to enter Cooperstown, but others such as Paul Molitor and Jim Rice spent a lot of time at the position as well. Sure, Thomas was only elected two years ago, but Martinez was on the ballot in 2014 as well.
The stats between Thomas and Martinez are comparable as well. Thomas has more home runs and RBIs (521 HRs and 1,704 RBIs compared to 309 HRs and 1,261 RBIs), but in the stats that have become more coveted in baseball, Martinez is slightly better. Martinez had career batting line of .312/.418/.515, which competes with the best in baseball history.
What is also forgotten about Martinez is he actually did play in the field. Of the 1,956 games Martinez started in his career, 560 of them were either at first or third base. In fact, if he never tore his hamstring in a 1993 exhibition game in Vancouver, BC, he probably would have played in the field for many more years. To think that an unzipped seam in the turf of BC Stadium, in an exhibition game, is the reason why Martinez might not become a Hall of Famer is heartbreaking to say the least.
Luckily for Martinez and fans alike, this does not seem to be the case. In a perfect world, Martinez and Griffey would both be Hall of Famers this year as the first two Mariners ever, but that is not likely to happen. Martinez does seem to gaining momentum though, considering he only had 27 percent of the vote last year. With 110 ballots made public so far, Martinez has 51.8 percent of the vote, more than even Bonds at 50 percent. He is still quite a bit short of the 75 percent needed to get in, but the uptick in votes is encouraging.
Writers recently have complained there are too many worthy candidates on the ballot considering they only have 10 votes, but with a lot of big names coming of last year and the same expected this year, players like Martinez will have a much better shot in 2017. The announcement of David Ortiz retiring after this season, a legend at the DH position for the Boston Red Sox, has helped Martinez’s case as well.
The only thing that could really hurt Martinez in the future is writers have started to give votes to players previous accused of PEDs. This raises the votes for players like Bonds, Roger Clemens and McGwire with the possibility those votes are taken from players like Martinez. I highly doubt Martinez will not be a Hall of Famer one day; I just don’t expect it this year. So when the new Hall of Famers are announced on January 6, don’t expect to hear Martinez’s name. In 2017, though, he is more than likely going to be the second Mariner to make it to Cooperstown.
