Edgar: Almost A Dodger or Yankee?

Can you imagine one of your favourite athletes in a uniform other than the one they became famous in?

Over the years, many have been able to play with one team. But in the free agency era, they have become fewer and further between.

As we found out with author Larry Stone, Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Edgar Martinez almost didn’t stick around Seattle after not seeing a clear path out from the Calgary Cannons.

Designated Hall of Famer

Good things come to those who wait.

In the case of former Seattle Mariner and Calgary Cannon Edgar Martinez, he’s become accustomed to waiting.

After going undrafted and signing with the Mariners in 1982, the third baseman spent the majority of the next seven years in the minor leagues, including 276 games with the Triple-A Cannons.

The rest of his career was spent with the Mariners, mostly as a designated hitter (DH), where Martinez waited for a World Series berth that never came before retiring at the end of the 2004 season.

When his career Major League Baseball (MLB) numbers – he hit 309 home runs, batted .312 and posted a .418 on-base percentage – were deemed worthy of National Baseball Hall of Fame consideration, Martinez would once again be forced to exercise patience as the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) deliberated his fate.

But, after his 10th and final year on the ballot, the wait is over and it’s good news for the man who simply became known as “Edgar” to Seattle sports fans.

Five Things We’re Watching in 2019

From Edgar’s Hall of Fame bid to Mike Soroka’s ascent up the Atlanta Braves depth chart to the Western Canadian Baseball League’s rebrand & revamp, there is a lot for Alberta’s baseball fans to be excited for.

We take a look at five of the headlines we will be watching in the coming year.

The Straw That Stirred the Drink

For Edmonton baseball fans, Reggie Jackson really was the straw that stirred the drink.

On May 16, 1983, the man known as Mr. October arrived in Edmonton for an exhibition game between the hometown Trappers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL) and their parent club, the California Angels.

It was a nothing game for the Angels – a northerly stop wedged between an 8-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins and a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners – but it was a statement game for fans in Alberta’s capital.

Full Count

EDGAR IS GOOD.

If you went to a Seattle Mariners home game in 2000, that’s what flashed on the big screen in left field when Edgar Martinez stepped to the plate.

It would often flash again right after his at bat, when he ended up either on base or touching home plate.

But is he Hall of Fame good?

Ballot of Alberta

The ballots have been cast and we’ll soon know who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Of the 34 candidates, five players spent time playing on Alberta minor-league teams.

Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel were teammates on the Triple-A Calgary Cannons in the 1980s, while lefty Johan Santana fine-tuned his game with the Edmonton Trappers before winning two Cy Young Awards in the mid-2000s.

Another Cy Young Award winner, Chris Carpenter, cut his teeth with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1994 and second baseman Orlando Hudson also got his start with the Baby Jays.

Here’s a look at the Alberta hopefuls and their chances of finding immortality in Cooperstown …

The Long Road to Edgar Martinez Drive

It’s a long road from Crowchild Trail in Calgary to Atlantic Street in Seattle.

And for the man who would eventually have a section of that Emerald City street named after him, it was wrought with twists, detours and roadblocks.

Unlike Ken Griffey Jr., who made everything look so easy, including his journey to the big leagues, Edgar Martinez never took the express lane to stardom.