Tim Marchman: No, no, no pt. 2

Wrong Hoyt, Buster! Nah…it’s not an Axton answer song. It’s Marchman with an Edgar/Mattingly mosh.

Buster Olney is a terrific reporter, if not one who’s especially suited to ESPN’s multiplatformality and now-now-NOWism, but this, on Edgar Martinez, is out there:

  I think that Martinez’s candidacy is a lot like that of Don Mattingly: They were superlative players, but in the end, their greatness wasn’t sustained long enough.

He goes on to cite RBI stats that show… something, though I don’t know what.

Martinez’s candidacy isn’t anything like Mattingly’s. He had about a dozen great seasons; Mattingly had six if you’re being generous. Martinez had eight seasons in which he hit about as well as Mattingly did in his best. (Of course Mattingly was also a good defensive player.)

Martinez didn’t play the field, so there’s an argument to be made against his candidacy. I don’t really buy it—the lack of fielding value more keeps him from being classed among the 50 best everyday players of all time than from being classed as a Hall of Famer, I think—but there’s a debate to be had. There isn’t really a debate to be had between him and Mattingly. To tell the truth I doubt there would be one even if Mattingly hadn’t hurt his back. Sure, he had a nice run. So did Boog Powell.