Carlos Delgado

New York Mets — No. 21
First Baseman
Born: June 25 1972 (1972--) (age 35)
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
October 1, 1993 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Selected MLB statistics (through October 2, 2007)
Average	.280
HR	431
RBI	1374
Teams
Toronto Blue Jays (1993-2004) Florida Marlins (2005) New York Mets (2006-Present)

Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández (born June 25, 1972 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman for the New York Mets. As of the end of the 2007 season, Carlos Delgado ranks thirtyseventh (37) among all-time Major League home run hitters. Delgado is sixty-nine (69) home runs off legacy-setting benchmark of the 500 Home Runs Club and is only four (4) away from becoming the all-time home run hitter among Puerto Rico-born players. See: List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters.

Baseball career

In the summer of 1988, the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays all wanted to sign Carlos. He chose the Toronto Blue Jays. During the 1993 season, he broke in to the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays. Originally a catcher, he switched to first baseman and became one of the most productive sluggers in the Major Leagues. A two-time All Star, in 2000 and 2003, Delgado holds several Blue Jays single season and career records. He won the Hank Aaron and The Sporting News' Player of the Year awards in 2000, and the Silver Slugger Award in 1999, 2000, and 2003. Delgado is the fourth player in major league history to hit at least 30 home runs in 10 consecutive seasons, and amassed 100 RBI or more in seven of his ten full seasons.

On September 25, 2003, in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Delgado became the fifth American League player and 15th major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game. He hit a three-run home run in the first inning, then led off the fourth, sixth and eighth innings with solo shots. He was named AL Player of the Week (September 30, 2003).^[1] He was named again on September 7, 2004.^[2]

Delgado became a free agent following the 2004 season and was pursued by the Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. On January 25, 2005, he chose the Marlins, signing a four-year contract worth a reported $52 million. He successfully transitioned to the National League, hitting for a .301 batting average, .399 on-base percentage, with 33 home runs and 115 RBI in 2005. At the same time, he shared the major league lead in errors for a first baseman, with 14.

On November 23, 2005, the Mets traded Mike Jacobs, Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Psomas to the Marlins for Delgado and $7 million. The deal was part of the Marlins' "market correction" where they were unloading some of the higher paid players. Delgado responded as the feared cleanup hitter for the Mets, hitting 38 home runs and driving in 114 runs. With Delgado hitting between fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Beltran and star third baseman David Wright, the Mets had the best record in the National League in 2006, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, 4-3.

Through 2006, Delgado is the all-time leader for interleague play RBI with 131, and second all-time in home runs with 43.

Through the 2006 season, in 14 years of major league service, Delgado has a career .282 batting average, and a .390 on-base percentage with 407 home runs and 1,287 RBI in 1,711 games.

2007 season

Carlos Delgado had early struggles in the 2007 season with his batting average falling below .200 in April. His numbers improved as the season progressed.

2007 highlights

On May 9, 2007, Delgado hit a home run into McCovey Cove during a game against the San Francisco Giants, becoming the only visiting player to have hit three splash home runs at AT&T Park

On May 29, 2007, after Jose Reyes scored in the 12th inning on a balk to tie the game against the Giants, Delgado hit a game winning home run.

On May 14, 2007, Delgado walked with the bases loaded to give the Mets a 5-4 victory over the Cubs.

On May 17, 2007, Delgado hit a walk off single past Cubs second basemen Ryan Theriot.

On July 7, 2007 (7-7-7), Delgado hit a three run home run against The Houston Astros at 7:07 local time.

Delgado has 3 of the 7 Met walk off wins in 2007.

Delgado tied Billy Williams for 38th on the all time home run list with 428. He hit it of Adam Eaton of the Philadelphia Phillies on August, 28, 2007.

Social activism

Like his hero, Roberto Clemente, Delgado is a well-known humanitarian and peace activist and has been open about his political beliefs. As part of the Navy-Vieques protests, Delgado was actively opposed to the use of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico as a bombing target practice facility by the United States Department of Defense, until bombing was halted in 2003. He is also against the occupation of Iraq. In the 2004 season, Delgado protested the war by silently staying in the dugout during the playing of God Bless America during the Seventh inning stretch. Delgado does not make a public show of his beliefs and even his teammates were not aware of his views until a story was published in July 2004 in the Toronto Star. Delgado was quoted as saying "It’s a very terrible thing that happened on September 11. It's (also) a terrible thing that happened in Afghanistan and Iraq, ... I just feel so sad for the families that lost relatives and loved ones in the war. But I think it's the stupidest war ever." The story was the subject of a media frenzy, mostly in New York, where on July 21, 2004, as was anticipated, Delgado was booed for his passive protest during a game at Yankee Stadium [1]. Angry New York fans booed him and, when Delgado lined out in the bottom 7th inning, fans chanted "USA, USA" even though Delgado, like most Puerto Ricans, is an U.S. citizen but Delgado supports the Puerto Rican independence movement. Delgado had explained that the playing of God Bless America had come to be equated with a war in which he didn't believe. In a New York Times interview, Delgado said this is what he believed in, and "It takes a man to stand up for what he believes."

After being traded to the Mets, in a conciliatory measure, Delgado now stands during the singing of "God Bless America."

Among other charity work, Delgado is well known for his generous visits to hospitals in his hometown where, on Three Kings Day, he brings toys to hospitalized children. In 2006, he joined Puerto Rico's Senate President in co-sponsoring a massive Three Kings gift-giving effort in the town of Loiza. Delgado started his own non-profit organization, "Extra Bases" to assist island youth.

For his efforts, Delgado was awarded with the Roberto Clemente Award in 2006. The award goes to the player in baseball who best exemplifies humanitarianism and sportsmanship and was named after Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente in 1973.

Career statistics

See also

• List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• Batters with four home runs in one game
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
• MLB hitters with four home runs in one game
• Florida Marlins all-time roster

References

1. ^ Toronto's Carlos Delgado named American League Pepsi Player of the Week (2003-09-30). Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
2. ^ Toronto's Carlos Delgado named American League Player of the Week (2004-09-07). Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
3. ^ Carlos Delgado Statistics. Baseball Reference.com (2007-06-20). Retrieved on 2007-06-20.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Carlos Delgado

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Marlins Official Site - Delgado signing with Florida
• The Silencing of Carlos Delgado An article about Carlos Delgado's stance on the Iraqi War in the The Nation

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