St. Louis ? Retiring Seattle Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez won the Roberto Clemente Award for excellence on the field and in the community.

Martinez, who spent all 18 of his major-league seasons with the Mariners, has been involved with a nearly a dozen charities and nonprofit organizations. The first Puerto Rican-born player to receive the honor, Martinez was given the award Tuesday by baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Roberto Clemente Jr.

“I was watching the World Series where Clemente played, in 1971,” Martinez said. “And after that Series, I went outside in my house and I started playing in the yard, backyard, and I was hooked on baseball after that.”

The award is named after the former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder, who died in a plane crash New Year’s Eve 1972 on a flight to deliver relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Martinez hit .263 with 12 homers and 63 RBIs in his final season. A designated hitter for most of his career, he finished with a .312 career average and 309 homers.

“As great a player as Edgar Martinez has been on the field, he’s been a greater human being off the field,” Selig said.