Edgar Martinez to retire at end of season
August 9, 2004
SEATTLE (AP) -- Two-time AL batting champion Edgar Martinez announced Monday that he will retire at the end of the season, ending his career with the Seattle Mariners as one of baseball's greatest designated hitters.
Martinez, 41, was a seven-time All-Star. He batted over .300 in 10 seasons, and led the league in hitting in 1992 and 1995.
``I have decided that this will be my last season,'' he said. ``I am very fortunate and grateful that I have been able to play my entire career with the Seattle Mariners. The fans here have always been and continue to be great.''
The sleepy-eyed Martinez was a hitting machine, spraying extra-base hits to all fields. Five-plus years from now, he could become a test case for whether a player who spent most of his career as a DH should be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Martinez holds the DH record for home runs and RBIs, and has the highest batting average among DHs with at least 1,000 at-bats, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Overall, Martinez is a .312 lifetime hitter with 305 home runs and 1,244 RBIs. He has 2,205 hits, including 510 doubles.
A third baseman when he began his major league career in 1987, he played most of his games at DH. Of his 7,060 lifetime at-bats, almost 5,000 have come as a DH.
This year, Martinez is batting .258 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs. His playing time has been scaled back since Bucky Jacobsen was brought up from Triple-A Tacoma in mid-July.
The Mariners are stuck in last place in the AL West at 41-70. They were off Monday.
``This is a difficult moment for me, but it's also an exciting moment. I'm looking forward to the future and a new chapter in my life,'' he said.
Martinez often was slowed by leg injuries, and there was talk he might retire last year. But in November he signed a $3 million, one-year contract with an additional bonus based on plate appearances.
Martinez played almost exclusively at third base until becoming a full-time DH in 1995. He helped lead Seattle to the AL championship series three times, but never reached the World Series.
His biggest hit came in the first round of the 1995 AL playoffs. With the Mariners trailing the New York Yankees in the bottom of the 11th inning in the decisive Game 5 at the Kingdome, he delivered a two-run double down the left-field line, with Ken Griffey Jr. sliding home to send the Mariners into the ALCS against Cleveland.
