Shohei Ohtani Trying to Catch Mariners Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez in History Books

Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 in a loss on Monday for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he's still working to track down former Seattle Mariners star Edgar Martinez in history.

Former Seattle Mariners player Edgar Martinez (11) reacts after throwing out the first pitch before a game against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park in 2021. / joe nicholson-usa today sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks 14-3 in a lopsided affair on Monday afternoon. In that loss, Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 and failed to move closer in his quest for both 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases this season.

As he works to make history on that front, he's also working to make some other history which involves Seattle Mariners legend and Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Held off the scoresheet in yesterday's loss to the D'backs, Shohei Ohtani still will enter his @Dodgers game later this afternoon owning a 6.9 WAR in 2024 despite not pitching or playing the field. That puts him on the verge of setting a new single season high on this list of DHs

Held off the scoresheet in yesterday's loss to the D'backs, Shohei Ohtani still will enter his @Dodgers game later this afternoon owning a 6.9 WAR in 2024 despite not pitching or playing the field. That puts him on the verge of setting a new single season high on this list of DHs pic.twitter.com/Z4a4dpMOfG

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) September 2, 2024

That stat was put out before the Monday game, so Ohtani's WAR dropped to 6.6 (per Fangraphs), but he's still on track to pass Martinez's 1995 season that saw him accumulate a 7.0 WAR.

That 1995 season was shortened because of the 1994 strike, making Martinez's numbers even more incredible. Playing just a 145-game season, Martinez hit .356 to win a batting title. He added 29 homers and 113 RBI.

Martinez spent 18 years in the big leagues, all with Seattle. He was a seven-time All-Star and a two-time batting champion who had a lifetime on-base percentage of .418. He is both a team Hall of Famer and a National Baseball Hall of Fame member. He is currently serving as the M's hitting coach under Dan Wilson.

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