Mariners legend Edgar Martinez takes over as hitting coach

Hall of Fame designated hitter Edgar Martinez will serve as the Seattle Mariners’ hitting coach for the rest of the 2024 season.

New Seattle skipper Dan Wilson announced the hire on Friday, one day after Scott Servais was fired as the manager.

Martinez, 61, played his entire 18-year career in Seattle (1987-2004), earning seven All-Star nods and winning two batting titles. He retired with a .312 lifetime average, 309 home runs and 1,261 RBIs in 2,055 games and entered Cooperstown in 2019.

Martinez has been working for the Mariners as an organizational hitting adviser since 2019. He previously served as Seattle’s hitting coach from 2015-18.

“I want to thank Edgar for agreeing to join us for the remainder of the season,” Wilson said in a news release. “I’m confident his deep knowledge of hitting and experience with our hitters will be a great addition.”

Wilson and Martinez were teammates with the Mariners for 11 seasons from 1994-2004.

“When Dan reached out to me, I told him that I’d be happy to assist him this season in whatever way I could,” Martinez said. “I know the talent and work ethic this group of hitters has and I hope I can be of help to them.”

Martinez is one of two Mariners players to have his jersey number (11) retired, along with fellow Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. A statue of Martinez was unveiled outside Seattle’s T-Mobile Park in 2021.

The Mariners fired Servais as well as hitting coach Jarrett DeHart on Thursday after a 64-64 start to the season.

Seattle had lost eight of its last nine games heading into Friday’s series opener against the visiting San Francisco Giants.

–Field Level Media