Happy Birthday to Carlos Delgado, one of the more overlooked players in this game’s history. Delgado played most of his 17-year career with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Florida Marlins, and New York Mets.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1993-2008):

.280 BA, 2,038 HITS, 473 HR, 1,512 RBI, .383 OBP, 1,241 RUNS

  • 2x All-Star
  • 3x Silver Slugger
  • 2000 AL Hank Aaron Award
  • 2006 Roberto Clemente Award

Just 27 shy of 500 career Home Runs, over 1,500 Runs Batted In, and a.383 On Base Percentage over 17 years. In nine seasons, Delgado slugged for over 30 Home Runs and 100 RBIs. In my opinion, Delgado put together a Hall of Fame or, at the very least, a borderline Hall of Fame career, but still, he went overlooked during and after his career. Why was Delgado overlooked?

From 1996 when Delgado first became an everyday player in all his years with the Toronto Blue Jays, and the one year he spent with the Florida Marlins, he never once appeared in the Postseason. As we all know, great players who play on non successful teams need to be noticed in baseball and all sports. Delgado only made the Postseason in 2006, with the New York Mets when he was 34.

Another reason he got overlooked was that his career took place in the Steroid era, in which, despite how good of a season he had, there were always a bunch of sluggers having better seasons. Over his career, Delgado only has two black-type stats, leading the AL with 57 Doubles in 2000 and the majors with 145 RBIs in 2003. It’s wild that a guy who consistently showed that he could slug over 30 HR and 100 RBIs every year only appeared in two All-Star games. In 2003, Delgado finished 2nd in the AL MVP voting behind Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers, who admitted that he played around with certain substances during Texas. As far as we know, Carlos Delgado was never involved with any PEDs.

Defensively, he never won a Gold Glove. However, throughout 15,524.1 Innings spent at First Base, Delgado maintained a .992 career Fielding Percentage. When he got to the Mets at the end of his career, finally making the playoffs, he arguably had the most offensive impact hitting for .351 and driving in 11 runs during the Mets’ 2006 playoff run. 2008 despite being 36, Delgado played 159 games, hitting 38 home runs and driving in 115 runs. The following year he was shooting for the 500 Home Run and 1,500 Run Batted In milestones, however, he suffered a bone spur and a torn labrum in his hip, and he never played again, just 27 shy of 500. In 2015, his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, he only received 3.8% of the vote, shy of the 5% required to stay on the ballot. Despite the lack of recognition, Delgado, on poor teams, had nine seasons driving in 30-100 and has over 1,500 career RBIs. That’s worth another look for the Hall of Fame.

References:

  1. Carlos Delgado Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/delgaca01.shtml