M’S Secure Martinez Through 1998

Two-time batting champion Edgar Martinez will get the chance to collect hundreds of more hits after signing a two-year contract extension worth nearly $9 million on Saturday.

Martinez, 33, agreed to terms with the Mariners that guarantee him a spot with the team through 1998, with a team option for the 1999 season.

“Edgar wanted to stay; we wanted to keep him,” general manager Woody Woodward said.

“I did want to stay but I wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” Martinez said. “This is the only team I’ve ever played for; my wife is from Seattle and I love the fans and players here.”

Terms were not announced, but sources with the team indicated Martinez will make nearly $9 million in the two years covered by the extension, and another $5 million should the Mariners keep him through the 1999 season.

Will he play beyond the contract?

“There are a lot of questions I can’t answer,” Martinez said, “including what will happen with the designated hitter rule. I’d like to keep playing.”

M’s whip Angels

Four of Seattle’s off-season acquisitions played significant roles as the Mariners handed the California Angels a 15-1 loss before 11,032 fans at Peoria, Ariz.

Third baseman Russ Davis, first baseman Paul Sorrento and left fielder Luis Polonia were a combined 7 for 10, scoring five runs and driving in seven.

Mariners starter Sterling Hitchcock went five-plus innings, allowing one unearned run to pick up his first win of the spring.

The Mariners unleashed a 17-hit attack and are batting .321 as a team this spring.

California scored in the second when Chili Davis reached on Alex Rodriguez’s error and eventually scored on a Joey Cora’s throwing error.

Polonia singled during the Mariners’ five-run fourth.

Sorrento capped a five-run outburst in the fifth with a grand slam off Angels reliever Dennis Springer. Davis, meanwhile, singled twice and drove in two runs.

Notes

Chris Bosio will pitch today as scheduled but right-hander Paul Menhart, still trying to cement a spot in the rotation, won’t start until Monday as the team tries to keep all its starters on schedule. “Paul is real strong, we’re just going to let him go as far as he can,” pitching coach Bobby Cuellar said. … Mutual admiration society: manager Lou Piniella said the Angels are the team to beat in the A.L. West. Angels manager Marcel Lachemann said Seattle should be the favorite. Both men smiled when they said it.