Why Édgar Martínez is Seattle’s Favorite Son

By Isabelle Minasian

“The stretch and the 0-1 pitch on the way to Édgar Martínez; swung on and lined down the left field line for a base hit! Here comes Joey! Here is Junior to third base, they’re going to wave him in! The throw to the plate will be LATE! The Mariners are going to play for the American League Championship! I don’t believe it! It just continues! My oh my! Édgar Martínez with a double ripped down the left field line and they are going crazy at the Kingdome!”

In case you’re not a Mariners fan, or have never listened to Macklemore’s “My Oh My,” that’s Dave Niehaus’ radio call of the final play in the bottom of the 11th as Seattle defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the 1995 American League Division Series. The city of Seattle does not have an anthem, as far as I know, but if they did this would surely be it. As longtime Mariners announcer Rick Rizzs described it, it was “the biggest hit in the history of our franchise. It wasn’t a home run, it was a double down the left field line because he had the discipline to wait for a splitter. Édgar and those guys in 1995 saved baseball in Seattle.”

It’s no exaggeration that Édgar is one of the most beloved figures in Seattle sports history. Rizzs, who took it upon himself to singlehandedly champion Martínez’s Hall of Fame case through the duration of our interview, referred to him as “one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met in baseball. He was a great player. A Hall of Fame player. A Hall of Fame person.”

Loved by every generation

Martínez resonates just as strongly with fans across generations. Take Bernice Orr, the grandmother of baseball writer Christopher Crawford. Orr gained fame when her grandson started a Twitter campaign to get her to the player’s number retirement. Why? She has been a fan of the team “forever,” and Édgar is her favorite player.

“What I loved, and still love, about Édgar was he was so quiet, but he also had these moments of excitement. You could tell he loved Seattle and I always appreciated that,” Orr said.

Kate Preusser, the managing editor of the Mariners fan blog Lookout Landing who campaigned vigorously for his election to the Hall of Fame this year, felt the same. In speaking about the first time she met him at a sports card show, she explained how, despite the crowds, “he was so kind and gracious; he acted like he had all the time in the world for me.

“And everything all just fit,” she said. “Every story supported the vision I had of him as this humble and hardworking and kind person. He played here for so long, and he was so good, for so long, both on and off the field, and I think that means a tremendous amount to people.”

Even Bud Selig, the former commissioner of Major League Baseball, recognized how meaningful Édgar was to the team and to the city.

“I was in Seattle on the last Saturday night of the season [in 2004] when they celebrated Édgar’s career. I’ve been in baseball for 40 years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a night when there was so much love and affection shown to one player,” Selig said.

Illustrious cluster of ‘boricuas’

The Mariners officially recognized Martínez’s accomplishments and impact on the organization this past Saturday by retiring his number 11. He is just the second Seattle player, after Ken Griffey Jr., to have his number retired.

When the number “11” was officially unveiled on the outfield wall at Safeco Field, Martínez became part of an illustrious cluster of boricuas with retired numbers: Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, José Cruz, Roberto Alomar, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez, whose No. 7 was also retired on Saturday, by the Texas Rangers.

Édgar, affectionately referred to as ‘Gar’ or Papi, was born in New York City on January 2, 1963. His parents divorced when he was 2, and he was sent to live with his grandparents in the coastal town of Dorado, Puerto Rico.

He fell in love with baseball, along with most of Puerto Rico, while watching the 1971 World Series with his grandmother. The Pittsburgh Pirates, led by the incomparable Clemente, defeated the Baltimore Orioles in seven games. Immediately after the final out, Martínez went outside and started playing baseball in his backyard. It’s been 46 years and his love for the game has never left him.

What else is he devoted to? His adopted home island of Puerto Rico. Three years after that World Series, Martínez’s parents reconciled and brought Édgar’s siblings back to New York, but he insisted on staying with his grandparents. As he told The Seattle Times, “I felt my grandparents needed me. I went with my feelings.”

Martínez graduated from high school and attended college in Puerto Rico, where he balanced school with semipro baseball and the night shift at a pharmaceutical factory. It was after an eight-hour shift that Martínez impressed Mariners scout Marty Martínez at a tryout camp, and shortly thereafter Seattle signed Édgar to a $4,000 deal.

Before Big Papi, there was Édgar

It’s impossible to truly elaborate on Martínez’s career without it extending into a novel, so let’s leave it to these following facts:

• Over 18 seasons, Édgar hit .312/.418/.515, which makes him one of 18 players in baseball history to accomplish a career .300/.400/.500. Who else is on that list? Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial and Hank Greenberg, to name a few. Every eligible player on that list has been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum except Édgar and Larry Walker, who are still on the ballot.
• He was a seven-time All-Star, a two-time AL batting champ and won five Silver Slugger Awards. Martínez was also named the Designated Hitter of the Year five times. You don’t remember that title? Perhaps you know it better as the Édgar Martínez Award, which is what MLB renamed it in 2004.
• In his final season, Édgar became the first Puerto Rican to receive the Roberto Clemente Award, in recognition of his work with Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. Édgar, always humble, said at the time, “I know a lot of players in Puerto Rico who are involved and like to help out in their community. But it means a lot to me to be the first. Clemente was my idol as a child and to get this award is very special to me.”

In short, before Big Papi, there was Édgar. While other legendary major leaguers became DHs near the end of their playing days, Édgar was arguably the first elite hitter to play that position for the majority of his career. He made it his own.

In the middle of a dismal 2015 season, the Mariners announced that Édgar would be returning to the team as a hitting coach, a move that brought joy as well as skepticism to the fan base. Édgar was beloved, there was no doubt about that, but many worried that this was a PR move — and that a failed coaching stint would sour the good feelings and memories of the man whose name adorned the street Safeco Field sat on.

Mariners’ Guru

The worries have been all for naught; Édgar’s career as a hitting coach has received resounding praise. Nelson Cruz and Robinson Canó both commented about his positive influence on the team, with Cruz elaborating that it was especially important to have Martínez on the coaching staff.

“We talk the same language, we know the same cultures,” Cruz said. “It also helps the young guys because they can go talk to him in their language and it makes them feel more comfortable.”

Édgar’s go-to advice for players?

“Be open to making adjustments, you always have to make adjustments. It doesn’t matter how long you played, you always have to be open.”

It’s advice that has resonated with rookies like Ben Gamel and veteran stars like Canó and Cruz. Outfielder Leonys Martín, who was recently called back up after being demoted in late April for his offensive struggles, could not say enough good things about Martínez.

“[Édgar] is like my mentor here, but not only about hitting… about life. For me, he’s the best hitting coach to be around,” the 29-year-old Martín said. “He’s awesome. I don’t know how to describe him. He’s like my dad.”

Édgar spent his entire career in Seattle; for a team and a city whose baseball failures far outweigh their triumphs, that is the thing that has resonated with fans throughout the generations.

He did not simply wear “Seattle” across his chest, he embraced the city as his own and, in turn, the city embraced him as one of its own. At the number retirement ceremony, he spoke about his love for the “beautiful lake, beautiful mountains, and beautiful people” in the region, but it was his final remarks that best revealed his relationship with the fans, whom he praised for “supporting [his] career all the way from beginning to end.”

“Thank you,” he said, “for taking me as one of your own, and welcoming me into your homes. You were a force that kept me going. I am so grateful. Thank you, thank you, Seattle.”

Featured Image: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images Sport