Hall of Fame-Frank Martin
In season 16 here at Pine Tar, the owners chose to vote just one player into the Hall of Fame and that player is Frank Martin. Martin becomes the fourth member of the Hall and he surely had the career to back up the selection. He displayed power, pure hitting ability and patience at the plate. He won many awards and was part of championship teams. Let me tell you a little more about our latest inductee.
Frank Martin got his career started back in season 1 with Washington, when he made a splash in half of a season with a .349 average, 14 homeruns, 54 rbi, 52 runs, and 54 walks compared to just 18 strike outs. A trip to the 60 day DL curtailed a season in which he very well could have won his first MVP award. That first MVP award, however came in season 2, when he hit at a .338 clip, with 34 homers, 133 rbi, 128 runs and 140 walks with just 41 strikeouts. That would also be the season in which he won his first World Series ring. Martin would play the next 2 seasons in Washington, until the franchise moved to Hartford. After 6 seasons with the same franchise, his option for season 7 was declined and he became a free agent. That season he was signed to a 5 season deal with a player option by Milwaukee. That was where he would stay until season 12 when he once again became a free agent. This time he signed a 2 year deal with Charleston. After his contract expired in season 14 he resigned with the team for 1 more season. In season 15, Martin signed a 1 season contract to play for Minnesota and never had an impact there. He retired after the season.
Martin finished his career with 389 homeruns, and had 8 straight seasons with more than 30. The most he hit in one season was in season 6 when he hit 50. He also finished his career with 1344 RBI's. He had 8 seasons of more than 100, and his most came in season 6 with 171. Martin had 1318 runs scored, and 8 seasons of more than 100 with his most coming in season 6 with 143. Martin put up the power numbers, but he was much more than that. He finished his career as a .330 hitter. He batted over .300, twelve times with a high of .367 in season 6. He also had a .460 career OBP. He finised season 6, with an unheard of .501 OBP. He had 1431 walks and drew more than 100 walks ten times.
Martins numbers could have been even more had he not spent so much time on the DL. He lost half of season 1 to an injury. He also spent parts of seasons 3, and 8 on the DL. Season 10 was a completely lost season as he spent the majority of it on the DL and only played 7 games.
There aren't many players that have an awards case as big as Martins. Martin had many accolades throughout his career, led by his 3 World Series rings. His first came back in season 2 with Washington. His second ring was with the same franchise, but this time they were in Hartford in season 6. The final ring was won in season 12 with Charleston. The personal awards start with his 4 MVP awards. As stated earlier, his first was season 2 with Washington. The second was in season 5 in Hartford. The third was his stellar season 6 campaign with Hartford as well. The final MVP was won in season 9 with Milwaukee. The biggest surprise with Martin, is that he only made the all star game 4 times in his career. Seasons 5, 6, 7, and 9 were the only seasons that he was elected to the team. He also won 7 silver slugger awards and even won 1 gold glove in RF.
Martins season 6 batting average of .367 still ranks 4th all time. His .501 OBP from that season is 1st all time and he actually holds the top 4 spots in single season OBP. His 1.240 OBP+SLG is 1st all time. He also holds the top 3 spots in single season walks. For career ranks, he is #3 in batting average, #1 in OBP, #2 in OBP+SLG, #4 in Slg, and #2 in walks.
Frank Martin had a phenomenal career and I believe the voters got it right by electing him into the Hall of Fame. A great career and one that will be put up for all to see on his Pine Tar Hall of Fame plaque.
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