Edgar's On The Edge

I can't decide if Edgar Martinez is a Hall of Famer or not. My rule of thumb for Hall of Fame admission is: if I have to consider it, then he probably isn't a Hall of Famer. I would never have to give any thought to Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ted Williams or Walter Johnson. When I think of Edgar Martinez, I have to pause. That's not a good start in my book.

However, Martinez offers one compelling stat in his favor. Martinez will post a career .300 batting average, .400 on base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. Those are easily Hall of Fame numbers. His two batting championship are nice, as well, but are these numbers alone worthy of Cooperstown?

Right now, I think he's not quite Hall of Fame material. I'm going to give it more thought, but when you enter the Hall, especially as a DH, you are going to need to post some crazy numbers. When guys like Eddie Murray and Paul Molitor, both of whom spent extended time at DH, can reach 500 homers or 3,000 hits, then you need to get close to that. Martinez won't.

Being one of the great hitters of his era and his .300/.400/.500 averages put Martinez on the edge of greatness. I just can't see what other data would help him get over the edge.