“Edgar deserves to be in [the Hall of Fame]…There are a lot of guys with similar numbers who should be there, and Edgar’s definitely one of them. He carried the team for a period of time. He was one of the most feared hitters in the game for 10-plus years.” — Ken Griffey Jr ., HOF ’16

“Edgar Martinez is, hands down, the best hitter that I’ve ever seen…he is the best pure hitter that I got to see on a nightly basis. And I hope that his time comes soon, that he gets a phone call stating that he’s a Hall of Fame player, because he is.” — Randy Johnson, HOF ‘15

“The toughest — and thank God he retired — Edgar Martinez…I think every pitcher will say that, because this man was tough.” — Mariano Rivera

“He [Edgar] was the best hitter I’ve ever seen. He was tough to get out. He was prepared…He gave Mariano [Rivera] a lot of trouble. He gave a lot of us a lot of trouble. He was unbelievable.” — Jorge Posada

“The toughest guy I faced I think — with all due respect to all the players in the league — was Edgar Martinez. He had to make me throw at least 13 fastballs above 95…Edgar was a guy that had the ability to foul off pitches, and it pissed me off because I couldn’t get the guy out.” — Pedro Martinez, HOF ‘15

“I remember when I was coming up, I used to watch a guy like Edgar hit and I was like, ‘This is ridiculous’…He’s a .312 career hitter. When you’re a career .312 hitter at this level, that means you pretty much got everything down.” — David Ortiz

“I think the writers have spoken in my case, and they will again in the future. They’re not going to hold [being a DH] against you. It’s part of the game and should be included as such. He [EDGAR] was one of the most feared right-handed hitters for a long time in this league. The amount of respect he has from peers speaks to the value of the offensive player he was.” — Paul Molitor, HOF ‘04

“A professional, quiet, humble giant and one of the best right-handed hitters ever seen.” — Dusty Baker