I'm a huge Mariners fan.
When I was a kid, we'd go to the kingdome, sit in the nosebleeds with our binoculars, and hope to catch a glimpse of Jr, Edgar, or even A-Rod (shudder). So my feelings to my home team and the greatest player in organization history are heavily weighted. That said, I'm going to do my damnedest to take off the rose colored glasses on this one and be objective.
Edgar Martinez just missed election into the baseball hall of fame in his ninth year of eligibility. What this means for those who don't know, is next year (2019) is his last year of eligibility before having to be voted in by the Veteran's committee, a process I both know nothing about, and suspect those committee members also know nothing about.
Now, I can sit here and recite statistic after statistic and talk about where he ranks among hall of famers, with the largest argument against him being the "low" home run total of 309. I could tell you that his career average of .312 ranks above such noted hall of famers like Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, and some shmuck named Hank Aaron. Oh, and just for fun, he hit more doubles (514) then Babe Ruth (506).
No, instead I'm going to focus on one simple, important fact. Something that happened on the very last day of his playing career. After Edgar's final home game on September 25, 2004, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award would be renamed the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.
Edgar still had more games to play, albeit on the road, making him the only active player to play in a sport WITH AN AWARD NAMED AFTER HIM. This has ALWAYS been something done either after a players career or posthumously. While Edgar did not win the award that year, he very well could have won HIS OWN DAMN AWARD.
Now, you may be wondering what point I'm exactly trying to make here. It's actually quite simple. Edgar Martinez played a sport that decided to name an award after him. I will now show you who all has had this distinguished honor in the four major american sports, and see if you can spot the commonality between all of them.
MLB
Jackie Robinson (HOF class of 1962) - Rookie of the Year
Cy Young (HOF class of 1937) - Best Pitcher
Hank Aaron (HOF class of 1982) - Best Batters
Roberto Clemente (HOF class of 1973) - Man of the Year Award
Ted Williams (HOF class of 1966) - All Star Game MVP
Tony Gwynn (HOF class of 2007)- Batting Champ (NL)
Rod Carew (HOF class of 1991) - Batting Champ (AL)
NFL
Walter Payton (HOF class of 1993) - Man of the Year Award
Bart Starr Award (HOF class of 1977) - Leadership Award
Art Rooney Award (HOF class of 1964) - Sportsmanship Award
Vince Lombardi (HOF class of 1971) - Super Bowl Trophy
George Halas (HOF class of 1963) - NFC Championship Trophy
Lamar Hunt (HOF class of 1972) - AFC Championship Trophy
NBA
Larry O'Brien (HOF class of 1991)- Championship Trophy
Eddie Gottlieb (HOF class of 1972)- Rookie of the Year
Maurice Podoloff (HOF class of 1974) - MVP
Red Auerbach (HOF class of 1969) - Coach of the Year
Bill Russell (HOF class of 1975) - Finals MVP
J. Walter Kennedy (HOF class of 1981) - Citizenship Award
Joe Dumars (HOF class of 2006) - Sportsmanship
Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes (Both HOF class of 2006) - Teammate of the Year Award
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| The greatest trophy in all of sports |
NHL
...Okay, I'm not doing these ones. There are A LOT, and if you haven't picked up on the point I've been making about all the other awards named after people...
EVERY SINGLE ONE IS IN THEIR SPORTS HALL OF FAME.
No exceptions!
Edgar Martinez has a baseball award named after him. He is not in the hall of fame. This is simply wrong. If he was not worthy of the hall of fame, he should never of had an award named after him. Plain and simple. Voters, you have one year left to get this right. Do it already.
