2026 Up to date Baseball Period Committee Candidate: Carlos Delgado

The next article is a part of my ongoing take a look at the candidates on the 2026 Up to date Baseball Period Committee poll. Initially written for the 2015 election at SI.com, it has been expanded and up to date. For an in depth introduction to this 12 months’s poll, use the instrument above. An introduction to JAWS could be discovered right here.

Although blessed with as a lot expertise to crush a baseball as almost anybody in his period, Carlos Delgado had a tough time getting the eye that his efficiency may need merited. Virtually actually, that owed one thing to the document numbers of balls flying out of the park throughout his heyday, with a proliferation of 30- or 40-homer seasons. That he spent the majority of his prime in Toronto, arriving simply after the Blue Jays’ back-to-back world championships however unable to assist in replicating that accomplishment, didn’t assist both; not till late in his profession would he attain the postseason.

Past that, Delgado didn’t match the mildew of what the general public has come to anticipate from skilled athletes. The controversies by which he was engulfed weren’t the garden-variety ones of so many different jocks — cash, respect, performance-enhancing medication, off-field way of life. No, they have been larger. In an age when most athletes shirk political stances as a result of they’ll slender their public attraction and affect their private manufacturers, Delgado was unafraid to protest towards what he felt was fallacious, even when his stance was unpopular. He spoke out towards america Navy utilizing a part of his native Puerto Rico for bombing observe, and publicly opposed the warfare in Iraq. He took a stand by taking a seat (to borrow a headline from The New York Instances), refusing to undergo the motions throughout the post-9/11 ritual of “God Bless America” — an motion that prefigured San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling throughout the nationwide anthem to protest police brutality towards folks of coloration in 2016. Delgado was the conscientious slugger.

Deglado’s outspokenness and activism stemmed from his admiration for Corridor of Famer and Puerto Rican hero Roberto Clemente. He died six months after Delgado was born, however his legacy of humanitarianism and combating for social justice left a deep impression on Delgado. He wore Clemente’s no. 21 briefly with the Blue Jays and later with the Mets, and due to his charitable endeavors — which included elevating cash for homeless, underprivileged and handicapped Puerto Rican youngsters, and sponsoring school scholarships by means of his Additional Bases Basis, Delgado gained the 2006 Roberto Clemente Award.

Conscience and good numbers gained’t get you a lot nearer to Cooperstown than good numbers alone will, nonetheless. Delgado as soon as seemed to be inside attain of 500 house runs — a milestone that may have assured him entry to the Corridor given his PED-free status — however a 2009 hip harm that led to 3 surgical procedures in 18 months proved an excessive amount of to beat. Whereas he may need caught round on a much less crowded BBWAA poll, he landed on probably the most densely packed within the establishment’s historical past, didn’t obtain sufficient help to stay eligible, and needed to wait out the rest of his 10-year time period earlier than he may seem on an Period Committee poll. Even now, his presence charges as a shock given how hardly ever such candidates get a second shot. I don’t anticipate Delgado to get robust help, nevertheless it’s a hopeful signal for the method, and within the meantime, the slugger’s exemplary profession is value one other look.

Carlos Juan Delgado was born on June 25, 1972 within the coastal metropolis of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. His mom, Carmen Digna Hérnandez, was a medical laboratory assistant, whereas his father, additionally named Carlos (“Don Cao”), was a drug and alcohol counselor, “a social employee by coronary heart” who handed alongside his sense of compassion to his son. Massive for his age, younger Carlos performed catcher in Little League, although different sports activities, together with swimming, monitor and notably volleyball, competed for his consideration. As a junior at José de Diego Excessive College in Aguadilla, he attracted the eye of scouts from the Blue Jays, Expos, Mets, Rangers, and Reds due to his robust arm, left-handed energy, excessive baseball IQ, and superior strategy on the plate. He signed with the Blue Jays as a non-drafted free agent at age 16 in October 1988, two years earlier than Puerto Rico grew to become topic to the novice draft. He acquired a bonus of $90,000 however was allowed to complete his research and graduate on schedule.

Delgado was simply 17 when he started his skilled profession with the Blue Jays’ St. Catharines (Ontario) affiliate within the New York-Penn League. He went homerless whereas hitting .180/.345/.236 in 31 video games, however improved to .281/.382/.417 in 1990 whereas repeating the extent as an 18-year-old, after which a member of the Blue Jays’ participant growth program advised Baseball America, “He’s the No. 1 prospect in our entire group.”

Delgado confirmed prodigious energy as he climbed by means of the Jays group, pounding 18 house runs for the staff’s Myrtle Seashore affiliate in his first 12 months of full-season ball in 1991, then 30 homers (with a .324/.402/.579 line) at Excessive-A Dunedin in 1992, and one other 25 at Double-A Knoxville in 1993; he entered every of the latter two seasons ranked among the many sport’s prime 5 prospects by Baseball America. He made his main league debut on October 1, 1993, the Jays’ one hundred and sixtieth sport of the season, taking on from Randy Knorr behind the plate within the sixth inning and drawing a stroll off Baltimore’s Todd Frohwirth in his solely plate look. He was left off the postseason roster, nonetheless, and whereas the Blue Jays beat the Phillies within the World Collection to win their second straight title, they didn’t return to the postseason once more throughout Delgado’s 12-season tenure in Toronto.

Glad with their tandem of Pat Borders and Knorr behind the plate, the Jays determined to provide Delgado a shot in left discipline halfway by means of spring coaching in 1994. Delgado — who had solely performed a couple of innings within the outfield in winter ball — did so passably sufficient to get the Opening Day nod towards the White Sox. He responded by accumulating his first two main league hits, a single off Jack McDowell and a 428-foot moonshot off Dennis Prepare dinner that was celebrated within the pages of Sports activities Illustrated; it was adopted by a 445-foot homer off Alex Fernandez the subsequent day, after which one other one and one other one. However after launching eight house runs within the season’s first 13 video games, he fell into an prolonged stoop, homering simply as soon as extra as his batting line sank to .215/.352/.438 earlier than he was demoted in early June.

Delgado spent the remainder of the strike-shortened season and a lot of the subsequent one at Triple-A Syracuse, hitting a mixed .319/.404/.577 with 41 house runs in 176 video games, and with the event of his bat far outstripping that of his glove, he hung up the instruments of ignorance for good on the finish of 1994. Nonetheless, that offensive dominance had solely intermittently translated to the majors. In two stints with the Blue Jays in 1995, he hit simply .165/.212/.297, and though most of his defensive innings with Toronto got here in left discipline, it was clear the Jays didn’t see him as a long-term match on the grass; whereas within the minors that 12 months, he realized to play first base. Given the extent of the Blue Jays’ struggles — notably within the latter season, once they went simply 56-88 whereas getting comparatively mediocre manufacturing from first baseman John Olerud (112 OPS+) and 38-year-old designated hitter Paul Molitor (101 OPS+), it’s truthful to surprise why the staff didn’t attempt to give Delgado an extended look, notably after the promising begin to his 1994 season.

Nonetheless shy of his twenty fourth birthday, Delgado put a declare on a full-time function with the Jays in spring coaching in 1996, serving as the first DH and taking part in a little bit of first base. He broke out offensively, homering 25 occasions whereas batting .270/.353/.490 for a 112 OPS+, and after Olerud was traded to the Mets in December, Delgado took over the beginning first base job in 1997. He clouted 30 homers whereas hitting .262/.350/.528 with a 127 OPS+, however between shaky protection, the positional penalty from DH responsibility, and rising offensive ranges, these seasons have been value simply 3.7 WAR mixed.

Because of improved performances towards left-handed pitching and an elevated quantity of respect from opposing hurlers, Delgado’s offensive numbers continued to climb. From 1998-2003 he hit a mixed .295/.413/.585 for a 155 OPS+ and a mean of 40 house runs, 101 walks (17 intentional), and 5.3 WAR per 12 months. He topped the 40-homer plateau 3 times in that span, with a excessive of 44 in 1999; he ranked within the AL prime 10 in all six seasons and within the prime 5 3 times, however by no means increased than second. He additionally positioned second within the league in slugging proportion twice, first in 2000, the 12 months he put up career-best slash stats (.344/.470/.664) en path to a 181 OPS+ (which ranked third), after which a second time in ’03, when he hit .302/.426 /.593 and led the league with a 161 OPS+ and 145 RBI. Throughout that stretch, he had 5 video games of at the very least three house runs, matching Sammy Sosa for the key league lead; on September 25, 2003, towards the Satan Rays, he grew to become the thirteenth participant ever to homer 4 occasions in a single sport. Whilst four-homer video games go, that one was one thing particular. His second blast, off Jorge Sosa, was the three hundredth of his profession, and his third and fourth homers led off innings with the Blue Jays down a run; they ultimately gained 10-8.

Regardless of that constant manufacturing, the 2000 and ’03 seasons marked the one occasions that Delgado positioned within the league’s prime 10 in WAR (sixth in each seasons with 7.3 and 5.9, respectively), earned All-Star honors, or made a dent within the MVP voting; he completed a stable fourth in 2000 and a really shut second behind Alex Rodriguez in ’03. Past the truth that the Blue Jays completed in third place within the AL East in all six of these seasons from 1998-2003, and that their attendance was middle-of-the-pack, it’s not totally clear why he flew to this point beneath the radar. For that six-year span, he ranked fourth amongst first basemen in WAR (31.6), behind Jason Giambi (37.3) and Corridor of Famers Todd Helton (35.1) and Jeff Bagwell (32.7). His 155 OPS+ was fourth amongst that very same group, behind Mark McGwire (180), Giambi (165), and Corridor of Famer Jim Thome (157), whereas his 237 homers have been third, trailing solely Rafael Palmeiro (257) and Thome (248). Within the AL, Thome began the 1998 and ’99 All-Star Video games, and Giambi did so in 2000 and ’02, with Olerud (2001) and Delgado (2003) sneaking in as soon as apiece. Whereas it’s true that a number of the aforementioned first basemen with whom he vied for consideration would later be related to PEDs, it’s additionally true that stretch was a high-scoring one, with over 5.0 runs scored per staff per sport and extra hitters reaching the 30- and 40-homer plateaus than ever earlier than.

The Blue Jays rewarded Delgado for his manufacturing amid an unsure possession state of affairs. In December 1999, they signed him to a three-year, $36 million contract, which made him the Tenth-highest paid participant within the majors when it comes to annual wage and included the fitting to demand a commerce after the 2000 World Collection — or to change into a free agent if that request went unfulfilled. With Delgado finishing his career-best season one month after Rogers Communications bought the Blue Jays in September 2000, the brand new homeowners acquired out in entrance of his possibility by remodeling his contract into a four-year, $68 million deal that for the second made his $17 million annual wage the majors’ highest; two months later, Rodriguez’s 10-year, $252 million take care of the Rangers blew it out of the water.

Off the sector, Delgado discovered different methods to face out, taking it upon himself to hold on the legacy of Clemente by utilizing his platform to talk out for social justice. In April 2001, he joined 10 different Puerto Rican celebrities — singers Jose Feliciano and Ricky Martin, actor Benicio del Toro, boxer Felix Trinidad, and fellow slugger Juan Gonzalez amongst them — in taking out full-page adverts in The New York Instances and The Washington Post calling for america to stop utilizing Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico with a inhabitants of round 9,400, as a Navy bomb-testing web site, which it had finished since 1938. The poisonous air particles produced by the testing have been believed to trigger of upper charges of most cancers and different severe diseases within the island inhabitants. After a protracted battle that drew the help of extra politicians and celebrities, the Navy withdrew from Vieques in Could 2003.

Delgado was additionally the uncommon athlete to take a stand towards the warfare in Iraq. In an act of easy protest, initially of the 2004 season, he frequently selected to stay within the dugout throughout the taking part in of “God Bless America,” a staple in ballparks because the September 11, 2001 bombings. “I by no means keep outdoors for ‘God Bless America,’” he advised the Toronto Star in July 2004. “I truly don’t suppose folks have seen it. I don’t [stand] as a result of I don’t consider it’s proper, I don’t consider within the warfare.” He elaborated on that subject:

“It’s a really horrible factor that occurred on Sept. 11,” Delgado stated. “It’s [also] a horrible factor that occurred in Afghanistan and Iraq. I simply really feel so unhappy for the households that misplaced relations and family members within the warfare.

“However I feel it’s the stupidest warfare ever,” he stated. “Who’re you combating towards? You’re simply getting ambushed now… You’ve been searching for weapons of mass destruction. The place are they at? You’ve been searching for over a 12 months. Can’t discover them. I don’t help that. I don’t help what they do. I feel it’s simply silly.”

Delgado’s protest had the backing of the Blue Jays — even teammates who disagreed along with his views — nevertheless it uncovered him to hecklers; I witnessed an incident at Yankee Stadium myself, however was heartened to seek out followers round me far angrier on the perpetrators than on the participant.

On the sector, Delgado missed 5 weeks of the 2004 season attributable to an indirect pressure, and whereas he completed with 32 house runs, his .269/.372/.535 (129 OPS+) batting line was his worst since 1997. A free agent that winter, he shocked the baseball world by signing a four-year, $52 million deal with the Marlins, one so closely backloaded that it included simply $4 million within the first 12 months. He put up robust offensive numbers (.301/.399/.582, 160 OPS+, 33 homers), however abysmal fielding (-20 Defensive Runs Saved) restricted him to 2.8 WAR. Two years faraway from their second championship, the Marlins gained 83 video games, however once they didn’t safe public financing for a brand new ballpark and completed useless final within the league in attendance, proprietor Jeffrey Loria ordered the roster torn aside. On the identical day that the Marlins traded Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota to the Crimson Sox for Hanley Ramirez, Aníbal Sánchez, and two different gamers, they dealt Delgado to the Mets for Mike Jacobs, Yusmeiro Petit, and a 3rd participant.

Upon buying Delgado, the Mets made clear that they anticipated him to fall in line when it got here to “God Bless America,” with chief working officer Jeff Wilpon telling reporters, “[Majority owner] Fred [Wipon] has requested and I’ve requested him to respect what the nation desires to do.” Whereas supervisor Willie Randolph voiced help for Delgado’s proper to voice his opinion, basic supervisor Omar Minaya steered away from doing so. Wrote Newsday’s Wallace Matthews:

“Even for those who disagree along with his politics, Delgado’s willingness to interrupt out of the mildew company America likes to jam us in set him other than the hundreds of interchangeable younger males who thrive athletically and financially in our sports-crazed tradition… However no. One of many few professional athletes who had the heart to say no is now a sure man. And the silencing of his voice, whether or not you agree with it or not, will not be a victory for democracy however a defeat.”

“I don’t need my private opinions to distract the staff,” Delgado stated throughout spring coaching in 2006, “however, simply because I abide by the principles, doesn’t imply my opinion has modified.”

Past the politics, Delgado was a success. Sandwiched between fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Beltrán and David Wright in the course of the lineup, he clubbed 38 homers, his highest whole since 2003, and hit .265/.361/.548 for a 131 OPS+. On August 22, he went yard twice off the Cardinals’ Jeff Weaver; the second shot, a grand slam, was Delgado’s four-hundredth profession house run.

The Mets gained 97 video games, giving the 34-year-old slugger his first style of the postseason, and he rose to the event, batting a mixed .351/.442/.757 with 4 house runs and 11 RBI in 43 plate appearances. Delgado homered and drove within the go-ahead run within the Division Collection opener towards the Dodgers, setting off a three-game sweep, and whereas his two lengthy balls in Recreation 2 of the NLCS towards the Cardinals went for naught, he drove in 5 runs with a double and a homer in a Recreation 4 rout. The Cardinals drew warier of pitching to him, strolling him 3 times in a decent Recreation 7 that remained deadlocked into the ninth inning. Yadier Molina’s solo homer off Aaron Heilman put the Cardinals forward, and whereas the Mets loaded the bases towards Adam Wainwright, Beltrán struck out trying to finish the sport whereas Delgado waited on deck.

Thus started a three-year string of near-misses for the Mets; they’d be eradicated on the ultimate day of the common season to wind up outdoors the playoff image in every of the subsequent two years. Although his total numbers took a dip, Delgado hit .321/.383/.566 with 4 homers in September 2007; sadly, he additionally missed 14 video games attributable to a proper hip flexor pressure, and the Mets’ 6-8 document in his absence contributed to their falling a sport in need of the NL East title. The hip would proceed to trigger issues. Delgado missed time within the spring of 2008 and began slowly (.198/.297/.323 in April), however he picked up steam because the 12 months went on and put up one other monster September (.340/.400/.649 with eight homers) to complete with 38 house runs. However once more, the Mets fell a buck quick.

Delgado’s robust end left him simply 31 homers from 500, and it appeared he nonetheless had one thing left within the tank heading into his age-37 season. The Mets picked up his $12 million possibility for 2009, however issues quickly unraveled. Although he began effectively, after taking part in simply 26 video games, Delgado wanted surgical procedure to restore a torn proper hip labrum in late Could, and couldn’t make it again earlier than season’s finish. After present process microfracture surgical procedure in the identical hip in December, he tried a comeback with the Crimson Sox in late 2010, however performed in simply 5 minor league video games earlier than ache and issues along with his different hip proved an excessive amount of to surmount. He introduced his retirement in April 2011. “There comes a second when you must have the dignity and the sense to acknowledge that one thing will not be functioning,” he stated on the time. “You’ll be able to’t swim towards the present.”

…

Although he doesn’t have an entire lot to level to when it comes to All-Star appearances (simply two), awards, league leads, postseason performances, black ink, and main milestones, Delgado scores 110 (“ risk”) on the Invoice James Corridor of Fame Monitor, which makes an attempt to quantify such accomplishments as these which aren’t mirrored by WAR. Notably, that rating is nestled between Corridor of Famers Willie McCovey (111) and Willie Stargell (107), and 10 factors head of McGriff.

Had Delgado reached 500 house runs — a shortfall that owes as a lot to his being trapped in Triple-A in 1994–95 as to his having performed his closing main league sport earlier than his thirty seventh birthday — he may need had a combating probability at Cooperstown, if for no different cause than his PED-free status. Seven of the ten gamers who reached the 500-homer plateau between 1999 and 2009 have been linked to PED utilization in some unspecified time in the future of their careers, together with fellow Up to date Period candidates Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield, and present BBWAA candidates Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez. Likewise, seven of the gamers who rank among the many prime 12 in house runs from 1996–2008 — a span throughout which Delgado’s whole of 457 ranked sixth within the majors — have been linked to PEDs. Amongst gamers outdoors the Corridor who have been by no means suspended for PED use or alleged to have utilized by the Mitchell Report or different credible sources, solely Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera hit extra homers than Delgado, and neither has but to come back up for election by the writers.

Past the house runs, Delgado’s profession .546 slugging proportion and 138 OPS+ are each spectacular, however they nonetheless rank a modest 18th amongst gamers with at the very least 5,000 plate appearances between 1993 and 2009; loads of guys from that point have been pulverizing the ball. Amongst gamers with at the very least 7,000 plate appearances — the cutoff I typically use for full careers when contemplating Corridor candidates — Delgado’s 138 OPS+ ranks sixtieth all time, two factors beneath Cabrera, Rodriguez, Sheffield, and Corridor of Famers Vladimir Guerrero and Duke Snider, and one level beneath Giambi, Reggie Jackson, Norm Money, and Bob Johnson. He’s 4 factors forward of McGriff, and 5 forward of Helton and one other Corridor of Fame first baseman, Orlando Cepeda.

Together with these homers, Delgado had a knack for timing. 3 times (2000, ’03, and ’05), he led his league in WPA. Statistically, his massive downside is that past his bat, he doesn’t rating effectively when it comes to superior metrics. His subpar baserunning (-26 runs) and protection (-65 runs) lower into his worth; he completed with simply three seasons above 5.0 WAR, and 6 above 3.0. His 44.4 profession WAR is 21.6 wins beneath the usual of enshrined first basemen and ranks fortieth on the place; whereas that’s higher than fellow Up to date Period candidate Don Mattingly (42.4), Delgado is forward of simply three Corridor of Fame first basemen, specifically Gil Hodges (43.8), Jim Bottomley (36.0), and George “Excessive Pockets” Kelly (25.4). Likewise, Delgado’s 34.5 peak WAR ranks fortieth, 0.1 beneath Cepeda and forward of solely 4 enshrined first basemen. At 39.4, he ranks thirty eighth amongst first basemen in JAWS, effectively beneath McGriff (44.3) however forward of Mattingly (39.1) and three Corridor of Fame first basemen: Hodges (38.7), Bottomley (32.9), and Kelly (24.8).

The underside line is I don’t see any robust statistical justification for voting for Delgado. BBWAA voters didn’t see any both, giving him simply 3.8% of the vote, however that comes with a caveat, as he was on a poll that featured 16 gamers with a JAWS of at the very least 50.0 (one shy of the post-1966 document set the earlier 12 months) and 14 future Corridor of Famers, together with the elected Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz.

That stated, I’m glad Delgado is up for a vote. The historical past of gamers who’ve gone one-and-done on BBWAA ballots after which gotten second possibilities on Period Committee ballots is a brief one. Apart from Ted Simmons, who made three such ballots and was lastly elected on the 2020 Trendy Baseball poll, Joe Carter, Will Clark, and Lou Whitaker are the one ones who’ve gotten placement previous to Delgado, with Carter and Clark getting two possibilities on a few weak In the present day’s Recreation ballots. I’m all for giving such candidates one other look, and hope which means Whitaker, Jim Edmonds and Johan Santana (each of whom will probably be eligible for the primary time on the 2029 Up to date Baseball poll, if the system stays as is), and others get their day, as effectively.

Whereas Delgado might not have the numbers to benefit a plaque within the Corridor of Fame, he has left behind a formidable legacy: that of a top-flight athlete keen to take a stand on issues that mattered removed from the taking part in discipline. We may all the time use extra of these.