This man could hit. Arguably the best DH of all time. Either him or David Ortez. I would rate Martinez a better hitter. If Seattle hadn’t screwed up leaving him at the triple-A level for three years. He his at least .329 those three years. His lowest on base percentage was .434 those three years. Martinez was not a great fielder, but Baseball Reference had him as an average fielder, so I have no idea why he was at the triple-A level for so long. Enough about that.
Until his last season at age 41 Martinez’s worse hitting seasons in 1993 and 1994 when he had serious injuries both years. In 1995 at age 32, he had the best year of his career. He started DH more but led the league in OPS plus making him probably the best hitter in the league. He finished 3rd in the MVP award. He won his second batting title and led in on-base percentage the first of three times. This was the first of 7 years Martinez had an OPS plus of 150 or more meaning he was 50 percent better than the average pitcher.
On September 7th, 1995, the Mariners were 62-61 and 6 games behind the first place California Angels. The rest of the year they went 17-5, including an extra game tie breaker to win the division. In the division series against the Yankees, Martinez hit .571, had an on-base average .667 and slugged 1.000. He scored 6 runs and drove in 10 in a 5-game series.
In game 4, the Mariners were down 2 games to 1 in a 5-game series and were down 5-0 going into the bottom of the third. Martinez hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the third, to put the Mariners back in the game. In the bottom of the eight with the game tied at 6, Martinez came up with the bases loaded and no one out. He hit a grand slam to give the Mariners a 4-run lead. The Mariner held on to win 11-8.
In game 5, the Mariners came out in the bottom of the 10th down by one run. Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr. hit singles to lead off the inning. Edgar Martinez then hit a two-run double to win the game and the series. The man could hit.
