SEATTLE – Edgar Martinez’s numbers may indicate his career is nearly over, but in his mind he’s far from finished.
On a rattling day when Martinez saw the Seattle Mariners designate veteran first baseman John Olerud for assignment, he said his desire to play is as great now as ever.
“I still have the drive and I still have the desire to compete,” Martinez said. “That hasn’t changed.”
Martinez went into the All-Star break batting just .244 with six home runs and 38 runs batted in, but he said he hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for the game.
“I fail and fail, and it drives me more,” he said. “It’s something in me, and I’m sure in every player here, that doesn’t leave you. It’s that competitive attitude. You still feel that urge to compete.”
Martinez said days like Thursday, when a veteran like Olerud lost his job, make him think of his own future. At age 41 and probably in his final season, Martinez said he doesn’t want to go out the way Olerud did.
“In life and other jobs, you get fired, but you deal with it,” he said. “I had three jobs before I played baseball and I got laid off from all of them. Sometimes when you work, you hate your job. But baseball is something we dreamed about doing as kids. It’s a job we want to do.”
It won’t be the same the rest of this season, though.
The arrival of Tacoma Rainiers designated hitter Bucky Jacobsen on Thursday means Martinez will get fewer at-bats.
“Edgar’s not going to sit for an extended period of time,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He knows his at-bats will be affected some, as will everybody’s.”
Martinez said early this season he didn’t want to be traded, and he still feels that way.
“Right now, I need to digest everything that has taken place,” he said. “At the stage I’m at in my career, do I want to experiment by going to another team? I have mixed feeling about that. I’ve always been with the Mariners and I feel like I’ll always be a Mariner.”
Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said Wednesday he doubts he would trade Martinez, Jamie Moyer or Dan Wilson, the three veterans who have been with the club the longest.
Bavasi met Thursday with Martinez to outline the team’s plan to play its top minor league prospects the rest of the season.
“I can see the direction the organization is going. I understand it,” Martinez said. “It’s still hard. But you can do one of two things. You can complain about it or you can deal with it and make the best out of it.
“It’s your choice.”
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