Edgar Martinez is regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Born in New York and raised in Dorado, Puerto Rico, by his grandparents, Martinez played his entire 18-year major-league career with the Seattle Mariners. He remains beloved by Seattle fans, whose slow chant of “Ed-Gar” was a staple at Mariners games throughout his career. His game-winning hit in the 1995 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees is an indelible moment in Seattle sports history and is known simply as “The Double.”
Martinez had a career batting average of .312 that includes American League batting titles in 1992 and 1995. When he retired, the award for the top designated hitter in baseball was renamed The Edgar Martinez Award. In 2017, the street bordering the Mariners' ballpark, now known as T-Mobile Park, was changed to Edgar Martinez Drive by the city of Seattle, and the Mariners retired his No. 11 jersey. Martinez won the Roberto Clemente Award for public service in 2004 and was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 2007.
He and his wife, Holli, established the Edgar and Holli Martinez Foundation to support students of color in teacher education programs. Martinez returned to the Mariners in 2015, serving for three years as hitting coach and subsequently in the more flexible role of Organizational Hitting Adviser.
Edgar can be followed on Twitter.
