May 27^th – June 2^nd

-The Hall of Fame and Edgar Martinez: Having gone through three separate voting seasons, Edgar Martinez is nowhere near getting into the Hall of Fame. He has never gotten more than 36% percent of the vote, which is less than half of the 75% required to get into the Hall. His career stats are impressive, but not eye-popping: he played 18 years (all with Seattle), amassing 2,200 hits, 300 home runs, and had a career batting average of .312. He won two batting titles, was a seven time all-star, and won four Silver Slugger awards. But his true worth is revealed by the more complicated metrics. He had a CAREER on-base percentage of .418, a career slugging percentage of .515, and a career OPS of .933. But his calling card, at least in terms of his Hall of Fame resume, is that he is the greatest Designated Hitter of all-time. There is almost no debate about this. Frank Thomas may have been better as a DH, but he played more than half of his games at first base and isn’t considered a DH in the eyes of the Hall of Fame. Since the DH was implemented in the American League starting in 1973, Martinez is the best DH in the fifty years of the position’s existence. But, likely, that last statement is the very thing that will keep Edgar Martinez out of the Hall of Fame. Reportedly, many Hall of Fame voters, which total close to 500, depending on the year, are hesitant to induct a Designated Hitter. Why? Some argue that the DH isn’t a position at all; it’s just a last resort for players too unathletic to play the field. Similar reasoning has hurt second basemen in the past, as there is always a stigma attached to second basemen: that they were never good enough to be shortstops. Others argue that including DH’s would skew the Hall of Fame towards the American League, as it is a position that doesn’t exist in the NL. While these may be fair assertions, perhaps the fairer route would be to disregard the concept of voting in players by position. If you were to take Edgar Martinez’s batting resume separate from his position, almost everyone would agree that he belongs in the Hall, which makes his exclusion, strictly due to his position, seem a bit preposterous. But that is the way voters vote: they compare you against your own era and how you stack up to the historical numbers produced by players who played the same position. You have to be one of the greats of your own time and one of the greats at your position. Edgar Martinez satisfies both requirements: he was one of the best hitters of his generation and, to reiterate, THE BEST DH OF ALL-TIME. Martinez has never even been suspected of steroids. In fact, he has never been involved in any scandal at all. It seems like he would be a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame. But because he is a DH, it will likely be a long time before he gets in, if ever. And to make things more confusing, there is already a DH in the Hall: Paul Molitor. Martinez finished with more homeruns than Molitor and had a higher career batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Apparently, the voters are not very consistent in their biases. But, another possible explanation for Martinez’s uphill battle to get into the Hall is due to the reliance on historically established statistical plateaus, which are career achievements everyone acknowledges as sure tickets to the Hall: 500 HRs, 3,000 hits, or 300 wins for a pitcher. These are not absolutes, and will surely be tested in the near future, once all the steroids superstars become Hall of Fame eligible, but Martinez didn’t achieve any of these statistical landmarks. Molitor, by playing longer, amassed 3,319 hits. It’s likely that this alone made him a surefire Hall of Famer; it was enough to help him overcome his status as a DH. There are 28 players in the 3,000-hit club and all of them, save for Rafael Palmeiro (Steroids) and Pete Rose (Gambling), are in the Hall. In fact, since 1962, each player to pass 3,000 hits has been a first-ballot induction. But, many of these statistical plateaus were established long ago, before the more advanced metrics were commonly regarded as better indicators of a player’s worth. Martinez is one of only twenty players to end his career with a batting average over .300, on-base percentage over .400, and a slugging percentage over .500. (They could call this the 3,4,5 Club…just a thought). And while there is nothing particularly sexy about these numbers, they reveal a career of mammoth proportions. Hall of Fame voters should update the statistics they rely upon, or at least allow that different players will excel in different areas (though their greatness may be about the same). Still, Martinez’s primary obstacle is that voters are biased against Designated Hitters; a bias that is even more confusing considering that there are five closers in the Hall of Fame: Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Dennis Eckersley (though Eckersley in particular spent a large portion of his career as a starter). Closers have a more specific role than DHs. Most of them are just failed starters. Further, they play in maybe one-third of a team’s games. Consider that Mariano Rivera has never appeared in more than 74 games in a single season and remember that most of his appearances only last a single inning. He is considered by almost everyone as a lock to be a first-ballot induction. So how can the voters justify the inclusion of closers when DHs play all 162 games on the schedule? Maybe a better way to ask the question is, would you rather have a dominant DH on your team (let’s say a .300 batting average, 40 HRs, and 130 RBI) or a dominant closer (40-50 games saved). Would anyone take the closer? Great DHs are pretty few and far between; the position is commonly used as a utility spot to shuffle around players at other positions that are overstocked. Martinez was a very special player and the best DH we’ve ever seen. He belongs in the Hall of Fame. To not let him in seems like outdated, crotchety nonsense from times gone by. The Hall of Fame should be difficult to get in, that’s what makes it so prestigious. But it shouldn’t be impossible to get in just because you were naturally suited to a particular position. DHs are a part of baseball. It only follows that they should be a part of the baseball Hall of Fame.