2026 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Candidate: Carlos Delgado

The next article is a part of my ongoing have a look at the candidates on the 2026 Modern 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 may 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 might need merited. Nearly definitely, that owed one thing to the file 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 help 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 count on from skilled athletes. The controversies through 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 greater. In an age when most athletes shirk political stances as a result of they’ll slender their public attraction and impression their private manufacturers, Delgado was unafraid to protest in opposition to what he felt was flawed, even when his stance was unpopular. He spoke out in opposition to america Navy utilizing a part of his native Puerto Rico for bombing follow, and publicly opposed the conflict in Iraq. He took a stand by taking a seat (to borrow a headline from The New York Occasions), refusing to undergo the motions in the course of the post-9/11 ritual of “God Bless America” — an motion that prefigured San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling in the course of the nationwide anthem to protest police brutality in opposition to individuals of shade 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 because of his charitable endeavors — which included elevating cash for homeless, underprivileged and handicapped Puerto Rican youngsters, and sponsoring school scholarships by way 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 which may have assured him entry to the Corridor given his PED-free fame — however a 2009 hip damage that led to 3 surgical procedures in 18 months proved an excessive amount of to beat. Whereas he might need caught round on a much less crowded BBWAA poll, he landed on one of the 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 might seem on an Period Committee poll. Even now, his presence charges as a shock given how not often such candidates get a second shot. I don’t count on Delgado to get sturdy help, but it surely’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. Giant 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 sturdy arm, left-handed energy, excessive baseball IQ, and superior method 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 beginner 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 instructed Baseball America, “He’s the No. 1 prospect in our entire group.”

Delgado confirmed prodigious energy as he climbed by way 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 recreation’s high 5 prospects by Baseball America. He made his main league debut on October 1, 1993, the Jays’ one hundred and sixtieth recreation of the season, taking up 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.

Happy with their tandem of Pat Borders and Knorr behind the plate, the Jays determined to present Delgado a shot in left discipline halfway by way 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 in opposition to 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 following 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 droop, 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. Nevertheless, 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, after 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 honest 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 obligation, and rising offensive ranges, these seasons have been value simply 3.7 WAR mixed.

Due to improved performances in opposition to 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 high 10 in all six seasons and within the high 5 3 times, however by no means greater 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 no less than three house runs, matching Sammy Sosa for the most important league lead; on September 25, 2003, in opposition to the Satan Rays, he grew to become the thirteenth participant ever to homer 4 occasions in a single recreation. 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 high 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 below 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 few of the aforementioned first basemen with whom he vied for consideration would later be linked to PEDs, it’s additionally true that stretch was a high-scoring one, with over 5.0 runs scored per staff per recreation 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 by way of annual wage and included the precise to demand a commerce after the 2000 World Collection — or to turn out to be 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 bought out in entrance of his choice by transforming his contract right 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 sphere, Delgado discovered different methods to face out, taking it upon himself to hold on the legacy of Clemente through the use of 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 advertisements in The New York Occasions and The Washington Put up 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 website, which it had completed 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 Might 2003.

Delgado was additionally the uncommon athlete to take a stand in opposition to the conflict in Iraq. In an act of easy protest, initially of the 2004 season, he commonly selected to stay within the dugout in the course of the taking part in of “God Bless America,” a staple in ballparks for the reason that September 11, 2001 bombings. “I by no means keep outdoors for ‘God Bless America,’” he instructed the Toronto Star in July 2004. “I really don’t assume individuals have observed it. I don’t [stand] as a result of I don’t imagine it’s proper, I don’t imagine within the conflict.” He elaborated on that subject:

“It’s a really horrible factor that occurred on Sept. 11,” Delgado mentioned. “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 conflict.

“However I believe it’s the stupidest conflict ever,” he mentioned. “Who’re you combating in opposition to? 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 believe it’s simply silly.”

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

On the sphere, Delgado missed 5 weeks of the 2004 season as a result of 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 stunned the baseball world by signing a four-year, $52 million take care of the Marlins, one so closely backloaded that it included simply $4 million within the first 12 months. He put up sturdy 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 after 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 needs to do.” Whereas supervisor Willie Randolph voiced help for Delgado’s proper to voice his opinion, common supervisor Omar Minaya steered away from doing so. Wrote Newsday’s Wallace Matthews:

“Even if you happen to disagree along with his politics, Delgado’s willingness to interrupt out of the mildew company America likes to jam us in set him aside from the 1000’s 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, isn’t a victory for democracy however a defeat.”

“I don’t need my private opinions to distract the staff,” Delgado mentioned 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 in opposition to the Dodgers, setting off a three-game sweep, and whereas his two lengthy balls in Sport 2 of the NLCS in opposition to the Cardinals went for naught, he drove in 5 runs with a double and a homer in a Sport 4 rout. The Cardinals drew warier of pitching to him, strolling him 3 times in a decent Sport 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 in opposition to Adam Wainwright, Beltrán struck out seeking 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 following two years. Although his general numbers took a dip, Delgado hit .321/.383/.566 with 4 homers in September 2007; sadly, he additionally missed 14 video games as a result of a proper hip flexor pressure, and the Mets’ 6-8 file in his absence contributed to their falling a recreation wanting 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 brief.

Delgado’s sturdy 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 choice for 2009, however issues quickly unraveled. Although he began nicely, after taking part in simply 26 video games, Delgado wanted surgical procedure to restore a torn proper hip labrum in late Might, 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 it’s a must to have the dignity and the sense to acknowledge that one thing isn’t functioning,” he mentioned on the time. “You may’t swim in opposition to the present.”

…

Although he doesn’t have a complete lot to level to by way of 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 last main league recreation earlier than his thirty seventh birthday — he might need had a combating likelihood at Cooperstown, if for no different cause than his PED-free fame. 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 Modern 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 high 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 no less than 5,000 plate appearances between 1993 and 2009; a number of guys from that point have been pulverizing the ball. Amongst gamers with no less than 7,000 plate appearances — the cutoff I usually 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. Thrice (2000, ’03, and ’05), he led his league in WPA. Statistically, his large drawback is that past his bat, he doesn’t rating nicely by way of superior metrics. His subpar baserunning (-26 runs) and protection (-65 runs) reduce 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 Modern Period candidate Don Mattingly (42.4), Delgado is forward of simply three Corridor of Fame first basemen, particularly 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, nicely 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 sturdy 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 no less than 50.0 (one shy of the post-1966 file 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 mentioned, 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 Right this moment’s Sport ballots. I’m all for giving such candidates one other look, and hope which means that Whitaker, Jim Edmonds and Johan Santana (each of whom will likely be eligible for the primary time on the 2029 Modern Baseball poll, if the system stays as is), and others get their day, as nicely.

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