Edgar for the HOF

Edgar Martinez deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Ken Griffey Jr. was on the field with him. Randy Johnson praised him on the big screen. Cal Ripken Jr. narrated his video tribute.
On the night Edgar Martinez’s No. 11 was retired at Safeco Field, some of the best to ever play the game of baseball took the time to honor their friend. And though it was touching, the truth is this: They should have been honoring their fellow Hall of Famer.
Before Martinez, the Mariners had a strict policy when it came to retiring numbers — you had to have a bust in Cooperstown. It’s the reason that, in addition to Jackie Robinson’s 42, Ken Griffey Jr.’s 24 was the only number hanging in left-center.

But the Mariners’ reasoning for making an Edgar exception was as simple as it was justified — Martinez should be in the Hall of Fame. And an objective look at his accomplishments says that they’re exactly right.

The fact that Martinez hasn’t been inducted yet is inching toward the point of absurdity. The archaic criteria certain voters use has kept a worthy man out while less-deserving players sneak in.
This isn’t myopic homerism. This isn’t an argument fueled by the emotion of Saturday night, either. This all comes down to the numbers, and the numbers say Martinez helped you win as much as just about anyone.
The all-encompassing statistic used to measure a player’s value these days is Wins Above Replacement (WAR). You study a player’s hitting, his speed, his defense and, through a fairly objective formula, determine how many extra victories he provides for his team.
Well, Martinez’s lifetime WAR is 68.3, which is tied for 77th all-time among position players. The two players he’s tied with are Eddie Murray, who was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and Carlton Fisk, who made it on his second try.
Want to hear some other names? How about Ivan Rodriguez, who, with a WAR of 68.4, became a first-ballot Hall of Famer this year? Or Willie McCovey and Dave Winfield, each of which played longer than Martinez and still have lower WARs? There’s also Harmon Killebrew, a man who slugged 573 home runs in his 22-year career, yet is responsible for more than eight fewer wins than Edgar.
Sabermatricians have made baseball a whole lot smarter over the years. A revamped style of analyzing the game has put money into the pockets of players who might have been previously overlooked.