OT: Hall of Fame - Edgar Martinez?

[nat]

Similarity scores don't really mean anything. They were a fun toy Bill James came up with years ago, but they shouldn't be taken seriously. A better idea is to take a look at the players around him in WAR (and then we can talk about the DH penalty in the WAR formula and things like that).

Here you go:

73.
Miguel Cabrera 68.8

Tony Gwynn 68.8

75.
Al Simmons 68.7

76.
Ivan Rodriguez 68.4

77.
Carlton Fisk 68.3

Edgar Martinez 68.3

Eddie Murray 68.3

80.
Kenny Lofton 68.2

81.
Graig Nettles 68.0

82.
Fred Clarke 67.8

83.
Ryne Sandberg 67.5

84.
Ernie Banks 67.4

This is position-player only. 77th all-time, tied with Fisk and Murray. A few non-HOFers in this territory, but mostly guys who are in. There are interesting questions to ask about methodology, but by WAR Martinez looks like a comfortably second-tier Hall-of-Famer.

Curiously, Edgar does only a little bit better in oWAR (the offensive component of WAR). There he's 69th all-time, sandwiched between Rafael Palmeiro and Tony Gwynn.