Edgar Martinez Designated for the HALL???

[tmpjets]

Would love to hear your thoughts on wether or not Edgar is ready for the Hall, since this will be his first year and the first true test for DH's. My vote for this honest and faithfull Seattle Mariner is a BIG YES and a first Ballot!

[bronx_burner]

I'd be surprised if any of the top 4 new eligibles (Martinez, Larkin, Alomar, McGriff) made it in their first year. I have a hard time guessing what the voters will do each year. I personally thought Tim Raines would have gotten much more than the 20-something percentages he has gotten in his first few years of eligibility. I put him in the same class of ballplayer with Larkin and Alomar. McGriff is tough as 7 more home runs and 10 more hits might have been enough to lock him in. I have no idea what to make of Martinez because of the whole DH thing. He was a top player for a number of years but none of his accumulating stats pop out. I don't think any of them make it this year but it will be interesting to see how much support each gets.

I think Dawson makes it this year and Blyleven comes up just short.

[CampWest]

I really do not understand the concept of the HOF voting. Quite frankly, I think its largely a joke and a sham.

I do not understand how players can go from 10-20% of the vote their first year to 70% in their 12-15th years of eligibility. Did they get more hits, RBI, Wins, Saves, MVPs, etc in those years? Did they age gracefully like a fine wine?

Too often have I heard, "____ is HOF worthy, but not first ballot worthy". If they are HOF material, then give them the vote. If they are not, then do not give them the vote. -- Regardless of what year of eligibility they are in. What difference does it make?

They generally try to elect at least two people each and every year. Why? Money and publicity. They would rather vote in somebody undeserving than forego that year's induction ceremony economic boon to the Hall and the city.

Like most things, its all about money and power. I think Edgar should be in the Hall. I think he will be in the Hall. Unfortunately, with the way the "system" works, I think the voters will withhold votes this year so they can demonstrate their power and slap him with the "Sure he's a HOFer, but not a first ballot HOFer." Instead they will vote in somebody undeserving who has suffered long enough with 30-50% votes to be considered worthy because they "paid their dues and kissed the voters' arses long enough". So, Andre Dawson and Blyleven will probably get in, just because they've aged like fine wine in the voting process and have puckered up.

Just think if people had not voted for a presidential candidate the first year they ran for president, just because they thought "he/she shouldnt get in on their first try".

[gorilla777]

I think electing Edgar would involve a long argument/discussion as to whether he is really worthy.
And there is a school of thought that says if a guy requires that much thought or discussion, then he really isn't a Hall of Famer. It should be one of those immediate "yes" answers when his name is mentioned.

Ben

[CampWest]

Personally, I think he is an immediate "Yes". The only thing to discuss is educating those that didn't follow his career, which, sadly, is probably half the HOF voters.

.312 career average, 2 batting titles, 7-time all-star, 500+ Doubles, 300+ HR, .418 career OBP... Had a string of 6 consecutive seasons with a .322+ average, followed by a .306 the 7th year.

What more can you expect from a guy?

This means he was clearly one of the best and most consistent hitters of his time. And generally that is an immediate yes to the question, whether or not he played a position or played it well. The voters usually also award extra credit for spending an entire career with one team.

Bad defenders who played a position regularly do not seem to be penalized if they were offensive stars. And 10 time Gold Glove winners who were above average hitters at their position do not get sniffed by the Hall, so I find it a great hypocripsy to deny a guy simply because he DH'ed.

[legaleagle92481]

He won't get in. He was at times the fourth best player on his own team. (AROD, Griffey and Randy Johnson were his teammates for many years). He had some impressive seasons but did not come close to any of the milestone numbers that normally make one a lock for the Hall (500 homers, 3,000 hits). He never won an MVP and his team never played in the World Series. Even if he had played a defensive position he would be a borderline candidate with his total career numbers the fact that he did not play half the game on top of the above pretty much dooms him. Don't get me wrong he was a very, very good player and better than quite a few hall of famers (which is not all that hard considering some of the guys the old veterans committee voted in Harry Hopper, Rick Ferrell, etc.). Molitor DHed alot and he is already in and Frank Thomas will be the next DH type to get in.