EDGAR MARTINEZ AWARD

The Outstanding Designated Hitter Award | Baseball Almanac

The Outstanding Designated Hitter Award was given each year by members of the Associated Press who are beat writers, broadcasters, and public relations directors. The award was given out during the first year of the designated hitter and has been an annual tradition ever since.

In 2000, the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award was discontinued by the Associated Press, but picked up by the Baseball Writers Association where it continued & prospered. In 2004, the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award was renamed the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in honor of DH extraordinaire Edgar Martinez who announced his retirement at the end of the regular season.

Listed below in chronological order are the recipients of the highly regarded Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. Annual nominees include all players with a minimum of 100 at-bats as a designated hitter. PLEASE NOTE: The Top 25 lists are yearly based, but not exclusive to designated hitters (all positions are listed). Research by Baseball Almanac.

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Outstanding Designated Hitter Award

by the AP & BBWAA | Edgar Martinez Stats

1973 Orlando Cepeda (1) Boston Red Sox (1) AL .289 Top 25 20 Top 25 86 Top 25
1974 Tommy Davis (1) Baltimore Orioles (1) AL .289 Top 25 11 Top 25 84 Top 25
1975 Willie Horton (1) Detroit Tigers (1) AL .275 Top 25 25 Top 25 92 Top 25
1976 Hal McRae (1) Kansas City Royals (1) AL .332 Top 25 8 Top 25 73 Top 25
1977 Jim Rice (1) Boston Red Sox (2) AL .320 Top 25 39 Top 25 114 Top 25
1978 Rusty Staub (1) Detroit Tigers (2) AL .273 Top 25 24 Top 25 121 Top 25
1979 Willie Horton (2) Seattle Mariners (1) AL .279 Top 25 29 Top 25 106 Top 25
1980 Hal McRae (2) Kansas City Royals (2) AL .297 Top 25 14 Top 25 83 Top 25
1981 Greg Luzinski (1) Chicago White Sox (1) AL .265 Top 25 21 Top 25 62 Top 25
1982 Hal McRae (3) Kansas City Royals (3) AL .308 Top 25 27 Top 25 133 Top 25
1983 Greg Luzinski (1) Chicago White Sox (2) AL .255 Top 25 32 Top 25 95 Top 25
1984 Dave Kingman (1) Oakland Athletics (1) AL .268 Top 25 35 Top 25 118 Top 25
1985 Don Baylor (1) New York Yankees (1) AL .231 Top 25 23 Top 25 91 Top 25
1986 Don Baylor (2) Boston Red Sox (3) AL .238 Top 25 31 Top 25 94 Top 25
1987 Harold Baines (1) Chicago White Sox (3) AL .293 Top 25 20 Top 25 93 Top 25
1988 Harold Baines (2) Chicago White Sox (4) AL .277 Top 25 13 Top 25 81 Top 25
1989 Dave Parker (1) Oakland Athletics (2) AL .264 Top 25 22 Top 25 97 Top 25
1990 Dave Parker (2) Milwaukee Brewers (1) AL .289 Top 25 21 Top 25 92 Top 25
1991 Chili Davis (1) Minnesota Twins (1) AL .277 Top 25 29 Top 25 93 Top 25
1992 Dave Winfield (1) Toronto Blue Jays (1) AL .290 Top 25 26 Top 25 108 Top 25
1993 Paul Molitor (1) Toronto Blue Jays (2) AL .332 Top 25 22 Top 25 111 Top 25
1994 No Award Issued (n/a) -- AL -- Top 25 -- Top 25 -- Top 25
1995 Edgar Martinez (1) Seattle Mariners (2) AL .356 Top 25 29 Top 25 113 Top 25
1996 Paul Molitor (2) Minnesota Twins (2) AL .341 Top 25 9 Top 25 113 Top 25
1997 Edgar Martinez (2) Seattle Mariners (3) AL .330 Top 25 28 Top 25 108 Top 25
1998 Edgar Martinez (3) Seattle Mariners (4) AL .322 Top 25 29 Top 25 102 Top 25
1999 Rafael Palmeiro (1) Texas Rangers (1) AL .324 Top 25 47 Top 25 148 Top 25
2000 Edgar Martinez (4) Seattle Mariners (5) AL .324 Top 25 37 Top 25 145 Top 25
2001 Edgar Martinez (5) Seattle Mariners (6) AL .306 Top 25 23 Top 25 116 Top 25
2002 Ellis Burks (1) Cleveland Indians (1) AL .301 Top 25 32 Top 25 91 Top 25
2003 David Ortiz (1) Boston Red Sox (4) AL .288 Top 25 31 Top 25 101 Top 25

Edgar Martinez Award

by the AP & BBWAA | Edgar Martinez Stats

2004 David Ortiz (2) Boston Red Sox (5) AL .301 Top 25 41 Top 25 139 Top 25
2005 David Ortiz (3) Boston Red Sox (6) AL .300 Top 25 47 Top 25 148 Top 25
2006 David Ortiz (4) Boston Red Sox (7) AL .287 Top 25 54 Top 25 137 Top 25
2007 David Ortiz (5) Boston Red Sox (8) AL .332 Top 25 35 Top 25 117 Top 25
2008 Aubrey Huff (1) Baltimore Orioles (2) AL .304 Top 25 32 Top 25 108 Top 25
2009 Adam Lind (1) Toronto Blue Jays (3) AL .305 Top 25 35 Top 25 114 Top 25
2010 Vladimir Guerrero (1) Texas Rangers (2) AL .300 Top 25 29 Top 25 115 Top 25
2011 David Ortiz (6) Boston Red Sox (9) AL .309 Top 25 29 Top 25 96 Top 25
2012 Billy Butler (1) Kansas City Royals (4) AL .313 Top 25 29 Top 25 107 Top 25
2013 David Ortiz (7) Boston Red Sox (10) AL .309 Top 25 30 Top 25 103 Top 25
2014 Victor Martinez (1) Detroit Tigers (3) AL .335 Top 25 32 Top 25 103 Top 25
2015 Kendrys Morales (1) Kansas City Royals (5) AL .290 Top 25 22 Top 25 106 Top 25
2016 David Ortiz (8) Boston Red Sox (11) AL .317 Top 25 38 Top 25 127 Top 25
2017 Nelson Cruz (1) Seattle Mariners (7) AL .288 Top 25 39 Top 25 119 Top 25
2018 Khris Davis (1) Oakland Athletics (3) AL .247 Top 25 48 Top 25 123 Top 25
2019 Nelson Cruz (2) Minnesota Twins (3) AL .311 Top 25 41 Top 25 108 Top 25
2020 Marcell Ozuna (1) Atlanta Braves (1) NL .338 Top 25 18 Top 25 56 Top 25
2021 Shohei Ohtani (1) Los Angeles Angels (1) AL .257 Top 25 46 Top 25 100 Top 25
2022 Shohei Ohtani (2) Los Angeles Angels (2) AL .273 Top 25 34 Top 25 95 Top 25
2023 Shohei Ohtani (3) Los Angeles Angels (3) AL .304 Top 25 44 Top 25 95 Top 25
2024 To Be Determined (x) -- xx -- -- -- -- -- --
Outstanding Designated Hitter Award | Edgar Martinez Award | Baseball Awards
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baseball almanac fast facts

Most fans know who the first designated hitter was in baseball history (answer), but do you know who the first designated hitter was from every single American League team?

Interleague play has now given the National League a full set of regular season designated hitters. Review the historical breakdown today and find who the first designated hitter was from each National League team.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in SEVERAL rule changes for the season, including a designated hitter to be used in all National League games. Thus, the Edgar Martinez Award could have gone to a player from either league, and ultimately was awarded to Marcell Ozuna, who played for the Atlanta Braves, making him the first player from a National League team to ever receive the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.

In 2022, the DH is now part of both leagues as it was included in the new collective bargaining agreement. At Baseball Almanac, we hoped it would be the first year where a designated hitter would be recognized in each league, but it did not happen. Let's hope it does in 2024.

David Ortiz (8x), Edgar Martinez (5x), Hal McRae (3x), and Shohei Ohtani (3x) are the only DHs to ever win the Edgar Martinez Award at least three times. Who will join that elite set of designated hitters? Share your opinion with us on our Baseball Almanac Facebook Group, on Baseball Almanac Twitter, via Baseball Almanac Messenger, or our baseball forum — Baseball Fever.