I don’t routinely make a habit of reading editorials from the Washington State University’s Daily Evergreen, and if Alex Martinez’ “(Edgar) Martinez should not be enshrined in Cooperstown” is indicative of the quality of most of ’em, I dare say I’m not missing much. Calling The Ancient Mariner, “no more than a designated hitter”, Field basks in the wake of Martinez only receiving 33 percent of the vote in the most recent Hall Of Fame election, opining “allowing Martinez to enter the hall of fame is like giving a punter the Heisman trophy; it just should not happen.” Never mind, of course, that Ray Guy is in the College Football Hall Of Fame (link courtesy Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
During the years Martinez played, steroid use was rampant throughout professional sports. Personally, I believe Martinez was guilty when it comes to steroid use, but nothing has been proven.
Nonetheless, Martinez™s home run numbers jumped from 14 up to 29 from 1992 to 1995. Also, his slugging percentage stayed above .550 from 1995 on, even though he had only been above .500 only once prior to 1995.
Steroids were also abundant in the Mariner™s locker room, according to ex-player Shane Monahan, who played for the Mariners in 1998 and 1999. Monahan claimed that every Mariner player, except for Dan Wilson, was using amphetamines.
Despite this claim, nothing has been proven and Martinez is innocent until proven guilty, especially when it comes to performance enhancing drug use.
Martinez compiled the bulk of his statistics as a designated hitter, and that alone should be enough for him to never receive entry to the Hall of Fame regardless of his statistics.
I could understand if he set records or garnered an MVP award, but he only played half of a position and he was good at what he did. Regardless, he was not good enough to be recognized as a Hall of Fame player.
He is a legend in Seattle, and rightfully so, but there is no place in Cooperstown for a designated hitter