Cousin pays Martinez tribute with hair cut

COOPERSTOWN – José Rivera’s pride was on display for everyone to see Friday afternoon as he stared into the case of artifacts that his cousin Edgar Martinez loaned the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his exhibit at the museum.

As Rivera leaned in to see the artifacts from some of the greatest moments in Martinez’s 18-year career, fans stared intently at the back of Rivera’s head, which served as a tribute to the Seattle Mariners great who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. 

It didn’t matter if the fans had gone up to see the displays honoring 2019 Hall of Fame classmates Lee Smith, Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina or Mariano Rivera, they all stopped to check out the silhouette that Jose Rivera had a barber back home cut into the back of his head. 

From the bottom of the back of Rivera’s hairline toward the top of the back of his head, Rivera had a barber draw a silhouette of Martinez’s profile. The detail was exquisite all the way down to the “S” on Martinez’s Mariners cap.

Rivera was stopped by fans throughout the museum. Some asked to take their picture with him, and others merely took his picture while he wasn’t looking, especially when he was in the Hall of Fame’s Plaque Gallery.

The artwork took 40 minutes to produce back home in his hometown of Dorado, Puerto Rico, where Martinez was raised after he left his native New York as a two-year-old.

“It’s an honor to be here,” José Rivera said. “This is a unique event. Our family here is very honored and proud of Edgar. But not only my family.

“The whole barrio of Maguayo, the people of Dorado and all Puerto Rico is very proud of Edgar for what he did in baseball and for the type of human being Edgar Martinez is. Edgar Martinez is a spectacular human being.” 

Rivera’s grandmother and Martinez’s grandfather were siblings. The cousins remain close. Rivera and several cousins arrived in Cooperstown on Thursday, the same day Martinez arrived with his wife and children.

Martinez’s mother landed in Cooperstown Friday. They all planned to attend a reception in Martinez’s honor Saturday afternoon and, obviously, the induction ceremony Sunday. 

The reserved Martinez is a fan favorite in Seattle and Puerto Rico. After a brilliant 18-year career in which he became arguably the greatest designated hitter ever, Martinez’s No. 11 jersey became one of the most popular numbers in the Pacific Northwest.

There are plenty of fans in Martinez’s replica Mariners No. 11 jerseys walking around Cooperstown this weekend.

Many have made the pilgrimage to this quaint village this weekend from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Some have flown in from Puerto Rico.

Martinez, who was voted into the Hall on his 10th and final year of eligibility on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot, will join Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar and Ivan Rodríguez as the fifth Boricua in the Hall of Fame. 

“I feel very proud, very honored that he’ll be here (with Clemente) and that he’ll have his plaque here,” Rivera said. “For us it’s an honor for him to be here.”