If Edgar Martinez Is a Hall-Of-Famer, Then What's Will Clark?

Is Edgar Martinez a Hall-of-Famer? I'm inclined to say yes.

Martinez's name will come up on the 2010 ballot for Hall of Fame inductions. The big question hovering over him is whether or not his time as a designated hitter will hurt his chances.

I never thought I would admit this in my life, but I agree with Steve Phillips. He says that the designated hitter has become a major part of the game and it should be appreciated.

Designated hitters specialize in power hitting. The Hall of Fame has inducted closers, who are also specialty players and arguably contribute less than designated hitters. Therefore, designated hitters should be inducted.

The point of this article is not to question the Hall of Fame credentials of Edgar Martinez. In fact, I'm going to write this article under the presumption that Martinez will have his plaque in Cooperstown. So if Edgar Martinez is a Hall of Fame player, then what is Will Clark?

First, let's look at the numbers:

Edgar Martinez	Hits	HR	RBI	BAvg	OBP	OPS+
Career	2247	309	1261	.312	.418	147
162-game average	177	24	99	--	--	--

Will Clark	Hits	HR	RBI	BAvg	OBP	OPS+
Career	2176	284	1205	.303	.384	137
162-game average	178	23	99	--	--	--

Edgar does have better numbers in his career. But keep in mind two things.

The first is that Will Clark played in fewer seasons and fewer games than Martinez. Clark's 162-game averages are very similar too.

Clark played first base for the majority of his career, which could lead to some wear-and-tear. Edgar Martinez played third base, but played about 1,000 games more at the designated hitter position.

Second, let's look at the awards and accomplishments of each player. Edgar Martinez was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger. Martinez also finished twice in the top-10 of MVP voting, finishing sixth and third.

Will Clark was a six-time All-Star and had two Silver Sluggers. However, it's harder to get a Silver Slugger at first base than the DH position. Also, Clark has a Gold Glove to his collection and played good defense throughout his career.

What's more impressive is Clark's record in MVP voting. It's a better measure than All-Star games. All-Star selections only measures half of a player's seasons and are chosen subjectively. Will Clark finished in the top-10 for All-Star voting four times, being second, fourth, and fifth two times.

I say both of these players deserve to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. They both are victims of playing in the steroid era and thrived.

By batting .300 against roided-up pitchers and being highly measured up to roided-up players should be plenty to get you into Cooperstown in this era. It may be sad, but it's true.

I'd rather have Will Clark in the Hall than Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez. They might have had natural talent, but we can't objectively measure what it was. We can for Will Clark and Edgar Martinez.

The sad thing is Will Clark's named appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2006 and he only garnered 4.4 percent of the vote. That's just short of the 5 percent you need to stay on the ballot for the next year.

Will Clark deserved better than that.