Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award on Baseball Almanac

Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award

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 award was discontinued by the Associated Press, but picked up by the Baseball Writers Association where it continued & prospered. In 2004 the award was renamed the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in honor of DH extraordinaire Edgard 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.

"Last year I struggled against left-handers. I think I got away from my game plan. This year (1999) I'm trying to see the ball a little longer and drive the ball the other way." - Rafael Palmeiro

Outstanding Designated Hitter Award by the AP & BBWAA \| Edgar Martinez Stats
Year	Designated Hitter Name	Team
1973	Orlando Cepeda⁽¹⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽¹⁾
1974	Tommy Davis⁽¹⁾	Baltimore Orioles⁽¹⁾
1975	Willie Horton⁽¹⁾	Detroit Tigers⁽¹⁾
1976	Hal McRae⁽¹⁾	Kansas City Royals⁽¹⁾
1977	Jim Rice⁽¹⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽²⁾
1978	Rusty Staub⁽¹⁾	Detroit Tigers⁽²⁾
1979	Willie Horton⁽²⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽¹⁾
1980	Hal McRae⁽²⁾	Kansas City Royals⁽²⁾
1981	Greg Luzinski⁽¹⁾	Chicago White Sox⁽¹⁾
1982	Hal McRae⁽³⁾	Kansas City Royals⁽³⁾
1983	Greg Luzinski⁽¹⁾	Chicago White Sox⁽²⁾
1984	Dave Kingman⁽¹⁾	Oakland Athletics⁽¹⁾
1985	Don Baylor⁽¹⁾	New York Yankees⁽¹⁾
1986	Don Baylor⁽²⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽³⁾
1987	Harold Baines⁽¹⁾	Chicago White Sox⁽³⁾
1988	Harold Baines⁽²⁾	Chicago White Sox⁽⁴⁾
1989	Dave Parker⁽¹⁾	Oakland Athletics⁽²⁾
1990	Dave Parker⁽²⁾	Milwaukee Brewers⁽¹⁾
1991	Chili Davis⁽¹⁾	Minnesota Twins⁽¹⁾
1992	Dave Winfield⁽¹⁾	Toronto Blue Jays ⁽¹⁾
1993	Paul Molitor⁽¹⁾	Toronto Blue Jays ⁽²⁾
1994	No Award Issued^(n/a)	--
1995	Edgar Martinez⁽¹⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽²⁾
1996	Paul Molitor⁽²⁾	Minnesota Twins⁽²⁾
1997	Edgar Martinez⁽²⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽³⁾
1998	Edgar Martinez⁽³⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽⁴⁾
1999	Rafael Palmeiro⁽¹⁾	Texas Rangers⁽¹⁾
2000	Edgar Martinez⁽⁴⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽⁵⁾
2001	Edgar Martinez⁽⁵⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽⁶⁾
2002	Ellis Burks⁽¹⁾	Cleveland Indians⁽¹⁾
2003	David Ortiz⁽¹⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽⁴⁾
2004	David Ortiz⁽²⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽⁵⁾
2005	David Ortiz⁽³⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽⁶⁾
2006	David Ortiz⁽⁴⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽⁷⁾
2007	David Ortiz⁽⁵⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽⁸⁾
2008	Aubrey Huff⁽¹⁾	Baltimore Orioles⁽²⁾
2009	Adam Lind⁽¹⁾	Toronto Blue Jays ⁽³⁾
2010	Vladimir Guerrero⁽¹⁾	Texas Rangers⁽²⁾
2011	Not Yet Announced^(11-2011)	--
Year	Designated Hitter Name	Team
Outstanding Designated Hitter Award

Most fans know who the first designated hitter was, but do you know who the first player was from each 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 player was from each National League team.

Edgar Martinez (5x), Hal McRae (3x) and David Ortiz (5x) are the only players to ever win the Edgar Martinez Award at least three times. Will Ortiz win it again? Who else deserved to win? Discuss these issues today in our discussion forums.

Copyright © 2000-2012. All Rights Reserved by Baseball-Almanac. Privacy Policy.Design by Geisler Young. Web hosting by Hosting 4 Less.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Football Almanac | Pigskin Fever | Today in Baseball History.