Designated hitter for the
Seattle Mariners. Most accurately described as "
Pure Hitting Machine". Signed by the
Seattle Mariners in
1982 he wasted away in the
minor leagues (hitting .359!) before the
M's wised up in
1989. He has won two
batting championships, led the
league in
on base percentage three times, and has hit higher than .300 in all 9 full seasons he's played.
However, he has his drawbacks. He has to be one of the slowest base runners in all of baseball, watching him make the trek to first base brings back images of my grandfather and his walker (yet, he still managed to steal 3 bases in 2000, go figure). And of course, as a DH, he doesn't contribute to defense and you'll probably never see him in the hall of fame because of it.
However, in addition to being a great baseball player, he's a class act:
The last time Edgar Martinez actually complained about anything might have been 1996 when Hootie and the Blowfish released their follow-up album to "Cracked Rear View." Or maybe not even then. The thing is, no one can remember him really complaining. He doesn't whine about being underpaid. He doesn't demand a trade to his hometown team. He doesn't insist on wearing a number that already has been retired.
-Jim Caple, on espn.com