The Edgar Martínez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, commonly referred to as the Edgar Martínez Award and originally known as the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, has been presented annually to the most outstanding

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

(DH) in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) since 1973. The award is voted on by club beat reporters, broadcasters and AL

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

departments. All players with a minimum of 100 at bats at DH are eligible. It was given annually by members of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

who are beat writers, broadcasters, and public relations directors. The Associated Press discontinued the award in 2000, but it was picked up by the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known ...

, which has administered it since. In September 2004, at Safeco Field ceremonies in honor of Edgar Martínez, Commissioner

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as ...

announced that the award would be renamed for the five-time recipient (1995, 1997–98, 2000–01). In an 18-year career with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, primarily as a designated hitter, Martínez batted .312, with 309 career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 1,261

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, Major League Baseball allowed the use of the designated hitter for the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL) in addition to the American League, expanding eligibility for the award to designated hitters in either league. The 2020 winner was

Marcell Ozuna Marcell Ozuna Idelfonso (born November 12, 1990), nicknamed "The Big Bear", is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins and St. Lou ...

of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, who became the first-ever winner of the award from the National League. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, MLB returned to only using the designated hitter for the American League, before a new collective bargaining agreement between MLB and its players' union allowed the use of the Designated Hitter in the National League beginning in the 2022 season. David Ortiz has won the award eight times, more than any other player (2003–2007, 2011, 2013, 2016). Other repeat winners of the award include Martinez himself (five times), three-time winner Hal McRae (1976, 1980, and 1982) and two-time winners

Willie Horton William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951), commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted felon who became notorious for committing violent crimes while on furlough from prison, where he was serving a life sentence without the ...

(1975 and 1979),

Greg Luzinski Gregory Michael "The Bull" Luzinski (born November 22, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies where he wa ...

(1981 and 1983), Don Baylor (1985 and 1986),

Harold Baines Harold Douglas Baines (born March 15, 1959) is an American former right fielder and designated hitter (DH) in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001, and is best known for his three stints with th ...

(1987 and 1988), Dave Parker (1989 and 1990),

Paul Molitor Paul Leo Molitor (born August 22, 1956), nicknamed "Molly" and "the Ignitor", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and former manager of the Minnesota Twins, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his 21-year baseball car ...

(1993 and 1996), and

Nelson Cruz Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez Jr. (born July 1, 1980) is a Dominican-American professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas ...

(2017 and 2019).

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

players have won the most Edgar Martínez Awards with eleven. In 2021,

Shohei Ohtani , nicknamed "Shotime", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional ...

became the first player to win both the Edgar Martinez Award and the American League MVP award in the same season.

Key

List of winners

References

;In-line citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar Martinez Award Awards established in 1973 Batting (baseball) Major League Baseball trophies and awards

Key

List of winners

See also

References