One thing that the wild-card-clinching Sox and hapless Seattle have in common: both teams have room for sentimentality in their lineups. Two retiring great hitters were on show yesterday: Ellis Burks, who went 1-for-2 and would probably have gone 2-for-2 without Bigbie’s acrobatics; and Edgar Martinez. It was great that Burks not only got a hit, but got to score a gimpy run in his 2000th and last game. What a way to go.
Meanwhile, Edgar played his penultimate game in Safeco, and actually got to play 3B for one pitch, which I thought was a nice touch. Didn’t have a great game, but he’s had a great career (.418 OBP!), and he was duly honoured by his team:
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said the city will rename a stretch of Atlantic Street that borders Safeco Field. From now on, it’s Edgar Martinez Drive. (Link)
Shouldn’t that be “Edgar Martinez Line Drive”?