Opponent: Texas Rangers
When: 7:05 p.m.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: Fox Sports Net
Radio: KOMO (1000 AM)
Pitchers: Seattle right-hander Miguel Batista (5-4, 5.72 earned run average) vs. right-hander Kameron Loe (1-4, 6.17).
Honoring Edgar
On the weekend the Mariners will induct former designated hitter Edgar Martinez into their Hall of Fame, there are many ways they are remembering his impact.
He became the definition of the DH role, winning two American League batting titles and making the AL All-Star team seven times. He delivered the biggest hit in franchise history, the 11th-inning double that beat the Yankees in the deciding Game 5 of the AL Division Series in 1995. He anchored a team that won three division championships and went to the playoffs four times from 1995-2001.
And he did it all with humility and a work ethic that became an example for other players to follow.
“When we took batting practice, the visiting club was lined up in their dugout watching him hit,” Mariners bench coach John McLaren said. “They were watching his routine, watching his approach, the whole nine yards. That tells you the respect Edgar commanded as a hitter, especially when it was the good hitters in the league who would stop and watch him hit.”
The Mariners held a luncheon in Martinez’s honor Friday at Safeco Field, and tonight he’ll go into the team’s Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony beginning about 6:30.
What impressed McLaren more than anything was how Martinez made himself into such an accomplished hitter.
“I saw him when he was in Double A, and if somebody had told me that he was going to be a star, I couldn’t have agreed with that,” McLaren said. “He didn’t have any power. He was a hit-and-run guy, he had a good arm and ran well and was a good fielder.
“For him to become the type hitter he was came from true determination.”
Determined to return: Injured relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes rejoined the Mariners on Friday, saying he wants to feel a part of the team even though his season is over after undergoing “Tommy John” elbow surgery in April.
Rhodes, 37, made it clear he wants to pitch one more season.
He and Dr. Lewis Yocum, who performed the surgery, talked about that before the operation.
“He said, ‘You’ve got 16 good years in. What do you want to do? Do you want to pitch next year or do you want to give it up now?” Rhodes said. “I told him I want to pitch next year.
“Then he said, ‘All right, then let’s get it done.’”
It will be months before Rhodes throws a baseball again, and it could be well over a year before he’s back to full strength. He says there’s no doubt in his mind that he’ll do it, though.
“I’m going to get there,” Rhodes said. “I’m going to work hard and get back in shape.”
Of note: Mariners manager Mike Hargrove left the ballpark before the end of Friday’s game in order to catch a flight back to Cleveland, where his daughter is graduating from high school this weekend. He said he would return to the team by Monday. Bench coach John McLaren will handle managing duties while Hargrove is away. … Relief pitcher Chris Reitsma, on the disabled list with a sore elbow, will throw in the bullpen today and may pitch a couple of games next week for the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers on a rehab assignment. … Former Mariner Bret Boone, in town this weekend to take part in festivities honoring Martinez, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday. … Shizuka Arakawa, the women’s figure skating gold medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics, watched the Mariners take batting practice and met players and team officials before Friday’s game. She will perform today at the Champions on Ice Tour at the Everett Events Center.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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