# Edgar Martínez Award

The Edgar Martínez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, commonly referred to as the Edgar Martínez Award and originally known as the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, has been presented annually to the most outstanding designated hitter (DH) in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1973. The award is voted on by club beat reporters, broadcasters, and public relations departments. The Associated Press discontinued the award in 2000, but it was picked up by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, which has administered it since. All players with a minimum of 100 at bats at DH are eligible. From the award's inception in 1973 until 2019, and in 2021, use of the designated hitter was allowed only in the American League (AL).
In September 2004, at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) ceremonies in honor of Edgar Martínez, Commissioner Bud Selig announced that the award would be renamed for the five-time recipient (1995, 1997–98, 2000–01). In an 18-year career with the Seattle Mariners, primarily as a designated hitter, Martínez batted .312, with 309 career home runs and 1,261 runs batted in.
In 2020, Major League Baseball allowed the use of the designated hitter for the National League (NL) in addition to the American League, expanding eligibility for the award to designated hitters in either league. The 2020 winner was Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves, who became the first-ever winner of the award from the National League. In 2021, MLB returned to only using the designated hitter for the American League, before a new collective bargaining agreement between MLB and its players' union allowed the use of the designated hitter in the National League beginning in the 2022 season.
In 2021, Shohei Ohtani became the first player to win both the Edgar Martínez Award and the American League MVP award in the same season. He accomplished this feat again after the 2023 season. In 2024, Ohtani became the second player to win the award from the National League, and the only player to win the award from both leagues.

## Key

| Year | The MLB season the award was given |
| Player (X) | Denotes winning player and number of times they had won the award at that point (if more than one) |
| Team | The designated hitter's team |
| † | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who is still active |
| BA | batting average |
| HR | Home runs |
| RBI | Runs batted in |
| Italics | Indicates player led the AL in that category |
| Italics | Indicates player led the NL in that category |

## List of winners

| Year | Player | Team | BA | HR | RBI |
| 1973 | Orlando Cepeda$^†$ | Boston Red Sox | .289 | 20 | 86 |
| 1974 | Tommy Davis | Baltimore Orioles | .289 | 11 | 84 |
| 1975 | Willie Horton | Detroit Tigers | .275 | 25 | 92 |
| 1976 | Hal McRae | Kansas City Royals | .332 | 8 | 73 |
| 1977 | Jim Rice$^†$ | Boston Red Sox | .320 | 39 | 114 |
| 1978 | Rusty Staub | Detroit Tigers | .273 | 24 | 121 |
| 1979 | Willie Horton (2) | Seattle Mariners | .279 | 29 | 106 |
| 1980 | Hal McRae (2) | Kansas City Royals | .297 | 14 | 83 |
| 1981 | Greg Luzinski | Chicago White Sox | .265 | 21 | 62 |
| 1982 | Hal McRae (3) | Kansas City Royals | .308 | 27 | 133 |
| 1983 | Greg Luzinski (2) | Chicago White Sox | .255 | 32 | 95 |
| 1984 | Dave Kingman | Oakland Athletics | .268 | 35 | 118 |
| 1985 | Don Baylor | New York Yankees | .231 | 23 | 91 |
| 1986 | Don Baylor (2) | Boston Red Sox | .238 | 31 | 94 |
| 1987 | Harold Baines$^†$ | Chicago White Sox | .293 | 20 | 93 |
| 1988 | Harold Baines$^†$ (2) | Chicago White Sox | .277 | 13 | 81 |
| 1989 | Dave Parker$^†$ | Oakland Athletics | .264 | 22 | 97 |
| 1990 | Dave Parker$^†$ (2) | Milwaukee Brewers | .289 | 21 | 92 |
| 1991 | Chili Davis | Minnesota Twins | .277 | 29 | 93 |
| 1992 | Dave Winfield$^†$ | Toronto Blue Jays | .290 | 26 | 108 |
| 1993 | Paul Molitor$^†$ | Toronto Blue Jays | .332 | 22 | 111 |
| 1994 | Not awarded due to the players' strike | Not awarded due to the players' strike | Not awarded due to the players' strike | Not awarded due to the players' strike | Not awarded due to the players' strike |
| 1995 | Edgar Martínez$^†$ | Seattle Mariners | .356 | 29 | 113 |
| 1996 | Paul Molitor$^†$ (2) | Minnesota Twins | .341 | 9 | 113 |
| 1997 | Edgar Martínez$^†$ (2) | Seattle Mariners | .330 | 28 | 108 |
| 1998 | Edgar Martínez$^†$ (3) | Seattle Mariners | .322 | 29 | 102 |
| 1999 | Rafael Palmeiro | Texas Rangers | .324 | 47 | 148 |
| 2000 | Edgar Martínez$^†$ (4) | Seattle Mariners | .324 | 37 | 145 |
| 2001 | Edgar Martínez$^†$ (5) | Seattle Mariners | .306 | 23 | 116 |
| 2002 | Ellis Burks | Cleveland Indians | .301 | 32 | 91 |
| 2003 | David Ortiz$^†$ | Boston Red Sox | .288 | 31 | 101 |
| 2004 | David Ortiz$^†$ (2) | Boston Red Sox | .301 | 41 | 139 |
| 2005 | David Ortiz$^†$ (3) | Boston Red Sox | .300 | 47 | 148 |
| 2006 | David Ortiz$^†$ (4) | Boston Red Sox | .287 | 54 | 137 |
| 2007 | David Ortiz$^†$ (5) | Boston Red Sox | .332 | 35 | 117 |
| 2008 | Aubrey Huff | Baltimore Orioles | .304 | 32 | 108 |
| 2009 | Adam Lind | Toronto Blue Jays | .305 | 35 | 114 |
| 2010 | Vladimir Guerrero$^†$ | Texas Rangers | .300 | 29 | 115 |
| 2011 | David Ortiz$^†$ (6) | Boston Red Sox | .309 | 29 | 96 |
| 2012 | Billy Butler | Kansas City Royals | .313 | 29 | 107 |
| 2013 | David Ortiz$^†$ (7) | Boston Red Sox | .309 | 30 | 103 |
| 2014 | Víctor Martínez | Detroit Tigers | .335 | 32 | 103 |
| 2015 | Kendrys Morales | Kansas City Royals | .295 | 21 | 104 |
| 2016 | David Ortiz$^†$ (8) | Boston Red Sox | .317 | 38 | 127 |
| 2017 | Nelson Cruz | Seattle Mariners | .288 | 39 | 119 |
| 2018 | Khris Davis | Oakland Athletics | .247 | 48 | 123 |
| 2019 | Nelson Cruz (2) | Minnesota Twins | .311 | 41 | 108 |
| 2020 | Marcell Ozuna* | Atlanta Braves | .338 | 18 | 56 |
| 2021 | Shohei Ohtani* | Los Angeles Angels | .257 | 46 | 100 |
| 2022 | Shohei Ohtani* (2) | Los Angeles Angels | .273 | 34 | 95 |
| 2023 | Shohei Ohtani* (3) | Los Angeles Angels | .304 | 44 | 95 |
| 2024 | Shohei Ohtani* (4) | Los Angeles Dodgers | .310 | 54 | 130 |

## Multiple-time winners

Ten players have won the award multiple times. David Ortiz has won the award eight times, more than any other player (2003–2007, 2011, 2013, 2016). Other repeat winners of the award include Martinez himself (five times), four-time winner Shohei Ohtani (2021–2024), three-time winner Hal McRae (1976, 1980, and 1982), and two-time winners Willie Horton (1975 and 1979), Greg Luzinski (1981 and 1983), Don Baylor (1985 and 1986), Harold Baines (1987 and 1988), Dave Parker (1989 and 1990), Paul Molitor (1993 and 1996), and Nelson Cruz (2017 and 2019). Shohei Ohtani has the most wins of any active player. Boston Red Sox players have won the most Edgar Martínez Awards with eleven.
| Player | # of Awards | Years |
| David Ortiz$^†$ | 8 | 2003–2007, 2011, 2013, 2016 |
| Edgar Martinez$^†$ | 5 | 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 |
| Shohei Ohtani* | 4 | 2021–2024 |
| Hal McRae | 3 | 1976, 1980, 1982 |
| Willie Horton | 2 | 1975, 1979 |
| Greg Luzinski | 2 | 1981, 1983 |
| Harold Baines$^†$ | 2 | 1978, 1988 |
| Dave Parker$^†$ | 2 | 1989, 1990 |
| Paul Molitor$^†$ | 2 | 1993, 1996 |
| Nelson Cruz | 2 | 2017, 2019 |