Before Tino Martinez became a vaunted Yankees first baseman for life, he was a hard-swinging adversary.
In the Yankees dynasty’s worst non-World Series departure from the playoffs of the decade in 1995, Martinez was on the other side, playing first base for Seattle and eyeing a legendary counterpart across the diamond in Don Mattingly, who was making his first career playoff appearance. The Bam-Tino caught George Steinbrenner’s eye in that series by cracking .409 with a single homer and 5 RBI in 25 at-bats, in an intense battle better remembered for Edgar friggin’ Martinez.