| By Alex Carson |  | By 12-14-2011 |
Edgar Martinez's hall of fame candidacy is largely viewed as one with fringe merit by most of the gatekeepers that monitor entry into the elite club. This has been evident considering the low number of votes he received in his first two years on the ballot.
Some say it'll get better. There aren't as many big names on the ballot for the next couple years. When those names do arrive, questions surrounding the steroid era will arise. Much like what we saw with Jeff Bagwell last year, some players will miss out on votes based on assumptions.
There are other non-stat related reasons players lose votes other than steroids. If they were paid big money, had egos and were jerks to the media, it'll cost them. Some BBWAA members are quick to point out that the voting rules allow them to include a player's character when considering potential enshrinement.
The question, then, is this: If you're looking for an upstanding member of the baseball community on and off the field that also played the game at a statistically high level, what better choice do you have than Edgar Martinez? If you're a voter hesitant to vote for a fringe player because he might have used steroids or was mean to anyone with a "PRESS" tag clutching their fedora, shouldn't the same logic be used going the other direction?
From the hall's website:
"The respect he gets around the league from the other side is as much as anyone I've ever seen," said former Mariners manager Bob Melvin. "I've never heard anyone say a bad word about Edgar Martinez. And in this game, that's almost impossible."
Maybe Melvin was just putting a good word in for one of his own. I don't know what merit this comment has. So, I started scouring the Internet for answers. The Internet, as you know, has answers for everything.
There's a website called jerk.com that apparently is in the business of revealing who is -- or isn't -- a jerk. Edgar Martinez's profile is, based on the picture, a totally different person.
A Google query for "Edgar Martinez mean" brings up a Bleacher Report article that says Edgar was an anonymous member of the Mariners. This is strange, since I vividly recall his name being right there on the back of his jersey. Regardless, their intended point wasn't to paint him as being mean.
Perhaps he said some unkind things to the media that are now etched in stone, or, at least, cached in webpages. Searching for "Edgar Martinez quotes" indeed yielded some results about his character. The quotes were mostly from other people, though, saying great things about Edgar or comparing great young hitters of this era to him.
I could have dug deeper, but I think the consensus opinion on Edgar Martinez's character is likely accurate. He was a terrific teammate, gave back to the community, and was a steward for the game abroad and apparently endearing to all who crossed his path.
Martinez didn't hit 500 homers. He didn't collect 3,000
hits. Playing a position for the bulk of his career isn't on his resume. I could point to relievers or American League starting pitchers that didn't hit who have been elected. Those double standards have all been covered and argued over, though.
When voters are biting their nails over fringe selections, worried that an otherwise worthy player tainted the sport they love, they should make a different choice: Elect Edgar Martinez to the Hall of Fame because he embodied the game the way you so desperately wished the others of his era had.
a-different-argument-for-edgar
Comments
The following 8 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: VikingArthur on 12-14-2011 16:10:08 I agree with your sentiments in general... that Edgar should be in the HOF. I literally love the guy... one of my all time favorite athletes. He was certainly a class act and, like I said, I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a player and as a guy. I do feel obliged to point out that any who understands how anabolic steroids work and their effects on the human body would point out that Edgar displayed all the classic signs of a steroid user. But that is not a shot at him. I respect the fact that these guys (and I'd bet my house on Edgar using) did what they could to be the best they could be. Some folks will say it is "cheating" but they are simply naive to the world around them. They don't understand that a good number of HS athletes use in all sports and that steroid use is literally assumed in big time college football and the NFL. Of course...the next response is "How about the testing and the occasional person who get caught?". Interesting anecdote from the BALCO scandal. Bonds was using the "clear" which was THG, a chemically altered form of a very common anabolic, trenbolone but with 10x more anabolic activity. The authorities KNEW that THG was in a syringe and it took them the better part of a year to reverse engineer a test to detect. Anyone with a basic understanding of chemistry knows that THG could have been modified again with a slight rearrangement of the isotopes and it would not be detectable. Sorry... I just have a huge issue with the idea that athletes are not using steroids and that the ones who do are rogues and cheaters. Edgar to the HOF for sure. |
| 2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 12-14-2011 16:15:06 It's also obligatory to point out that most of the "classic signs of steroid use" are also classic signs of aging. Fact. |
| 3. By: VikingArthur on 12-14-2011 16:24:46 Jason, Really? A bloated face is NOT a sign of aging. You simply don't get the level of water retention that Edgar displayed in his face without reason for the water retention. I am not going to argue with you but I am guessing that you don't know the "classic signs" that I am pointing out. |
| 4. By: VikingArthur on 12-14-2011 16:26:19 Again...I am not trying to be controversial at all. I would bet 100k on Edgar using and that is fine, I respect that. Doesn't change anything in my view. |
| 5. By: rjfrik on 12-14-2011 16:32:56 I would take that bet. I know its your opinion, but, my opinion is that Gar was one of the few.players who did not use and I would be willing to go to bat for that statement and Edgar |
| 6. By: VikingArthur on 12-14-2011 16:35:08 Hey I respect that... no worries. I have been around it my whole life and users are very obvious. Again... I am not trying to diminish the guy at all. Just pointing out the whole "Steroids = bad" nonsense is overplayed. That was my only point truly. |
| 7. By: Jason A. Churchill on 12-14-2011 16:36:13 Bloated face? Don't start with this BS, man. Bloated face? Edgar was a thicker player than many at 23 in Triple-A. He started to age and gain weight. And a bloated face isn't a steroid sign. Enlarged bone structures (chins, foreheads, craniums) has been linked to steroid use. Tony Gwynn, at about age 33-34, had a bloated face. But he also had gained weight in general, just like Edgar. This is funny because I have heard directly from people with the M's at the time, but I'm not going to sit here and read people talk as if bloated faces is a steroid sign and no a sign of aging. Friggin' ridiculous. Comments are OFF. |
| 8. By: rightwingrick on 12-15-2011 02:17:18 Can't let this one go. Edgar right now today looks like he did when he was playing from mid-career on. Look at most of the steroid users, and they are down 25-40 pounds, have lost muscle definition, etc. Edgar was NEVER bulked up like many of those guys, and has hardly changed since retiring. So....the speculation resting on water retention in his face at a single point in time is pretty silly based on lots of other indicators both during and after his career. He was a .330 hitter in the minor leagues with a .400 OBP, and a doubles machine. He was a .300 hitter in the majors with a .400 OBP and a doubles machine. He played as his minor league numbers projected. I remember Dave Neihaus commenting on Bret Boone one year, how he came back to spring training 25 pounds heavier and all muscle, wow, he must have really put in the work this winter. That never happened with Edgar. Every indication, from almost all close observers, was and is that Edgar was clean. Same with Griffey. We were lucky to witness them play. Hall of Famers both. I don't give a damn who votes them in or not; those that saw Edgar day in and day out know that he was the most feared designated hitter in the game for a decade with the game on the line, and one of the greatest right-handed hitters ever. {Comments Off means Comments Off} |
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