I guess my post a few weeks ago on Edgar Martinez and the Hall of Fame made me into a bit of an activist on his candidacy’s behalf, because I’ve gone to the trouble of assembling a lengthy post elsewhere gathering up trivia, anecdotes, and select highlights from his career, with the aim of showing Edgar to be more than just a compiler of impressive hitting statistics. The core of what I found was Edgar impressively playing through two on-field incidents in September 1997 that left him literally in stitches. Here, taken from the post, is that story. I don’t know if this will convince anyone to vote for Edgar, but it’s a heroic tale and should at least help erase the notion that DHs lack the fortitude to play the field as well as hit.  

Edgar first got stitches on September 8, 1997, in Kansas City, when Royals DH Chili Davis swung his bat in the sixth and it landed on Edgar’s head in the dugout for a five stitch cut. Edgar stayed in the game and went 2-4 with two singles, getting his 100th RBI along the way. A quote from Edgar: “I lost sight of it in the lights. I knew it was coming, and I ducked to the left. I must have ducked right into it. It was scary, lots worse than having a pitch come at your head.”

Then, on Sept. 12, came the coup de grace: playing Toronto at the Kingdome, Edgar slid into home, and into catcher Charlie O’Brien’s mask, trying to score in the sixth inning. He got eight more stitches on his chin. Of course he stayed in the game, and of course he hit the game-winning three-run homer in the eighth, breaking up a 3-3 tie. Edgar hit it off Roger Clemens, who was 21-5 at the time, and on his way to the ’97 Cy Young and a 2.05 ERA while giving up nine homers in all of 1997. Here’s the kicker: Edgar also had two infield(!) singles, for a 3-4 night, with two runs scored to go with his three RBI.

Edgar’s quote: “I never have been to a hockey game. But I’ve watched and seen the fights and the cuts. I guess you could say my week has been like a hockey game.” Lou Piniella called Martinez “a tough kid, a professional. It was his night.” Over the seven games that began with getting five stitches on the 8th, Edgar hit .400, 10-25, with four walks and a .483 OBP.