Seattle Mariners Rumors: Secret Edgar Martinez Press Conference Scheduled
Seattle Mariners rumors have the team planning a press conference involving Edgar Martinez for Tuesday (Jan. 24). Information about the press conference has been very limited with speculation on social media that it can only be for one of two reasons. A report by MLB.com discusses how it could be to retire the No. 11 Martinez wore for the Mariners. Only Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24) and Jackie Robinson (No. 42) have had their numbers retired by the franchise up to this point. Griffey had his number retired during the 2016 MLB season.
One worry that many Mariners fans have been posting about on social media is that Martinez may decide to retire from Major League Baseball. Though he ended his playing career during the 2004 MLB season, Martinez became the hitting coach of the team midway through the 2015 MLB season. This would be the beginning of his second full year of coaching for the Mariners with a lot of fan admiration already coming due to an improved offense. Now, many fans are expressing concerns that Martinez could be ready to walk away from the game entirely.
A team rule doesn’t allow for the numbers of star players to be retired until after they have either been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame or their candidacy has run out. This year was the eighth year on the ballot for Martinez, meaning he has only two more chances to get elected to Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers Association of America. That he is still on the ballot has created the murmurs that the latest Seattle Mariners rumors could indeed mean that Martinez is about to walk away from baseball.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Edgar Martinez spent his entire 18-year career in Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners. During that time, he became one of just 10 players in MLB history to have at least 300 home runs, 500 doubles, 1000 walks, a 0.300 batting average, and an on-base percentage of 0.400 or better. He would finish with an overall batting average of 0.312, an on-base percentage of 0.418, 2,247 hits, 838 extra-base hits, 1,261 RBIs, and 1,219 runs scored. Those numbers all came entirely with Seattle.
Martinez was a seven-time All-Star and won the Silver Slugger Award five times during his playing career. His best season was probably in 1995 when he posted a 0.356 batting average, a 0.479 on-base percentage, 52 doubles, and 121 runs scored. All of those statistics were tops in the American League, including his 145 games played for the team that season. Martinez would lead the league in batting average twice, on-base percentage three times, doubles twice, and RBIs once over his illustrious career at the plate.
Many previous Seattle Mariners rumors have dealt with his candidacy for the Baseball Hall of Fame and how much attention the writers have been paying to him in recent years. On the 2017 BBWAA ballot, Martinez received 58.6 percent of the vote, putting him close to the 75 percent needed for enshrinement. Many MLB analysts and voters have publicly stated that they now expect him to make it to Cooperstown on one of the next two ballots. If he succeeds, he will become just the second Mariners player to wear that cap to the Hall of Fame.
It would make sense for the organization to help the candidacy of Martinez by officially retiring his number. Not only would it be a sign of respect for one of the best players in franchise history, but it could also set up a night for a lot of ticket sales later this summer. The press conference is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. PT at Safeco Field on January 24. Team president Kevin Mather will be joined by Edgar Martinez, and the news will be streamed live on MLB.com and Mariners.com as well.
[Featured Image by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images]
