Hall of Fame Poll: Edgar Martinez

We are going to skip Carlos Lee and Brad Lidge.

Lee was a pretty good player, 14 seasons, .285/.339/.483 with 358 home runs in 2099 games. He played for 5 teams, Astros (6 seasons), White Sox (6), Brewers (2), Rangers (1) and Marlins (1).

He played in 3 All-Star games, got MVP votes 3 times (highest vote had home 17th) and had a couple of Silver Slugger awards.

If he played great defense, or if he had a slightly higher peak or if there weren’t a couple of dozen better players on the ballot, he might be worth considering, but he looks, to me, like a Hall of Pretty Good, instead of a Hall of Fame type.

Lidge was a good closer, but had a short career (for player on the Hall of Fame ballot). He played 11 seasons and that’s counting his first and last seasons, when he was below 10 innings both times.

He finished with a 3.54 ERA and 225 saves, 41st on the all-time list in 603 games. He played on 2 All-Star teams, had Cy Young and MVP votes twice. He had some good seasons, but he doesn’t belong in the Hall.

This is Edgar Martinez' 9th time on the ballot. He's received between 25% and 36% his first 6 times. The last two years he jumped to 43.5%, in 2016’s vote, and 59.6%, last year. He’s still a long way from the 75% needed.

Edgar played 18 seasons with the Mariners, hitting .312/.418/.515 with 309 home runs, 514 doubles, 1261 RBI. He was on 7 All-Star teams, won 2 batting titles, 1 Roberto Clemente Award, and 5 Silver Sluggers.

He seemed like one of those guys that could get a hit when ever he wanted. I remember watching him and thinking that there was no way to pitch him.

He has a 62.9 career offensive WAR, good for 68th place on the all-time list for batters. Factoring in defense, he has a 68.3 bWAR, 76th among position players.

There are lot of arguments about whether a DH belongs in the Hall. I don't see any reason DH's should be excluded. Edgar did play about half his career at third base. If he played in another era, he would have likely moved to first base and would have likely had similar numbers.

You can look at his stats here.

Matt’s chart:

Similar Players: Gary Carter (elected BBWAA), Barry Larkin (BBWAA), Duke Snider (elected VC), Andruw Jones (first year on ballot), Miguel Cabrera (active), Keith Hernandez, Joe Torre (elected as manager). Not many great comparisons.