Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisCarlos Delgado Retires
April 14th 2011 12:45
I really don't get why people aren't talking about Carlos Delgado's recent retirement (April 13th). Everybody was buzzing about Manny Ramirez, but I have only heard minor waves about another great slugger. Delgado is one of the 200 best baseball players of All-Time thanks to his incredible power. He slammed 473 dingers, drove in 1,512 runs, had a career OBP of .383, and had a career slugging percentage of .546. Those are eye-popping power numbers, and he ought to get much more recognition with those kinds of totals.
Carlos Delgado was a superstar first baseman during his first eleven seasons of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays. He retires as one of the greatest players in franchise history in ten significant statistical categories including homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, OPS, total bases, walks, doubles, and extra base-hits. Delgado won the Silver Slugger Award in the years 1999, 2000, and 2003 while also winning the Hank Aaron Award in 2000 for being the best offensive player in the AL. I think the award that defined his career best was his Roberto Clemente Award in 2006. The Roberto Clemente Award is given to the player that combines on the field excellence with charity work.
Carlos Delgado is one of the most famous athlete peace-activists in history, and we all know him for his thoughts against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Delgado went as far as staying in the dugout during the seventh inning stretch when "God Bless America" would be played. Delgado was a man for standing up for his beliefs, and the Puerto Rican showed great love for his home. He is credited for helping the education system in Puerto Rico, and Delgado also visits hospitals to give large amounts of toys to kids during Three Kings Day.
Let's face it, Manny Ramirez isn't really a good person. Ramirez was an enigma in the clubhouse that retired because he didn't want to face another suspension for breaking the MLB's substance abuse policy. Delgado, however, has helped kids in Puerto Rico and is a good person at heart. He is somebody we should look at and say, "That is a great man." While Delgado isn't perfect, we should definitely look at his career more fondly than Man-Ram- even if Manny was the better player- because Delgado was the better person.
I want you to take a look at the stats Carlos Delgado would average over an entire 162 season based on his total career numbers:
99 runs, 38 doubles, 38 home runs, 120 RBIs, 88 walks, and 317 total bases.
Those are remarkable numbers to sustain over an entire career. Is he a Hall of Famer? No. I think Delgado misses the cut because he was a terrible base-runner and fielder. I do think he will come close, but more importantly, I think baseball fans need to realize the caliber of a player that Delgado was. People need to realize that Carlos Delgado wasn't just some random power hitter. His numbers suggest that he is one of the 15 best hitting first basemen in baseball history since the modern era.
The turn of the century was a huge year for hitters, and Carlos Delgado was one of those hitters that put together a great season. Carlos Delgado's Stats from 2000:
4th in MVP Voting, 6.5 WAR, 115 runs, 196 hits, led the NL with 57 doubles, 41 homers, 137 RBIs, 123 walks, .344 batting average, .470 OBP, .664 slugging, 1.134 OPS, and a league-leading 378 total bases. Those are astonishing numbers that would garner a unanimous MVP pick in a "normal" season.
Carlos Delgado was a superstar first baseman during his first eleven seasons of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays. He retires as one of the greatest players in franchise history in ten significant statistical categories including homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, OPS, total bases, walks, doubles, and extra base-hits. Delgado won the Silver Slugger Award in the years 1999, 2000, and 2003 while also winning the Hank Aaron Award in 2000 for being the best offensive player in the AL. I think the award that defined his career best was his Roberto Clemente Award in 2006. The Roberto Clemente Award is given to the player that combines on the field excellence with charity work.
Carlos Delgado is one of the most famous athlete peace-activists in history, and we all know him for his thoughts against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Delgado went as far as staying in the dugout during the seventh inning stretch when "God Bless America" would be played. Delgado was a man for standing up for his beliefs, and the Puerto Rican showed great love for his home. He is credited for helping the education system in Puerto Rico, and Delgado also visits hospitals to give large amounts of toys to kids during Three Kings Day.
Let's face it, Manny Ramirez isn't really a good person. Ramirez was an enigma in the clubhouse that retired because he didn't want to face another suspension for breaking the MLB's substance abuse policy. Delgado, however, has helped kids in Puerto Rico and is a good person at heart. He is somebody we should look at and say, "That is a great man." While Delgado isn't perfect, we should definitely look at his career more fondly than Man-Ram- even if Manny was the better player- because Delgado was the better person.
I want you to take a look at the stats Carlos Delgado would average over an entire 162 season based on his total career numbers:
99 runs, 38 doubles, 38 home runs, 120 RBIs, 88 walks, and 317 total bases.
Those are remarkable numbers to sustain over an entire career. Is he a Hall of Famer? No. I think Delgado misses the cut because he was a terrible base-runner and fielder. I do think he will come close, but more importantly, I think baseball fans need to realize the caliber of a player that Delgado was. People need to realize that Carlos Delgado wasn't just some random power hitter. His numbers suggest that he is one of the 15 best hitting first basemen in baseball history since the modern era.
The turn of the century was a huge year for hitters, and Carlos Delgado was one of those hitters that put together a great season. Carlos Delgado's Stats from 2000:
4th in MVP Voting, 6.5 WAR, 115 runs, 196 hits, led the NL with 57 doubles, 41 homers, 137 RBIs, 123 walks, .344 batting average, .470 OBP, .664 slugging, 1.134 OPS, and a league-leading 378 total bases. Those are astonishing numbers that would garner a unanimous MVP pick in a "normal" season.
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