The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
33°F
Current Conditions
Mist
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Edgar to call it quits after season

Edgar Martinez will retire with two batting titles and a slew of records. (File/Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press
Edgar Martinez will retire with two batting titles and a slew of records. (File/Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SEATTLE – Two-time A.L. batting champion Edgar Martinez announced Monday that he will retire at the end of the season, ending his 18-year career with the Seattle Mariners as one of baseball’s greatest designated hitters.

Martinez, 41, was a seven-time All-Star. He batted over .300 in 10 seasons, and led the league in hitting in 1992 and 1995.

“I have decided that this will be my last season,” Martinez said at Safeco Field. “I am very fortunate and grateful that I have been able to play my entire career with the Seattle Mariners. The fans here have always been and continue to be great.”

Martinez holds the DH record for home runs and RBIs, and has the highest batting average among DHs with at least 1,000 at-bats, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Overall, Martinez is a .312 lifetime hitter with 305 home runs and 1,244 RBIs. He has 2,205 hits, including 510 doubles.

This year, Martinez is batting .258 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs.

Martinez said he’d been thinking about retiring for a few weeks.

“Obviously it’s very hard,” he said. “As a player, I feel in my mind and my heart that I want to keep playing, but my body’s saying something different.”