Carlos Delgado

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This article is about the baseball player. For the Venezuelan president, see Carlos Delgado Chalbaud.

Carlos Delgado

New York Mets — No. 21
First Baseman
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
October 1, 1993 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Selected MLB statistics (through September 19, 2006)
Avg	.282
HR	407
RBI	1281
Teams
Toronto Blue Jays (1993-2004) Florida Marlins (2005) New York Mets (2006-)

Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández (born June 25, 1972) is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the New York Mets.

Contents 1 Baseball career 2 Social activism 3 2004 Conflict with Mets Special Assistant Tony Bernazard 4 Trivia 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Baseball career

Delgado was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. 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.

2006 Season
Batting Average	.265
Home Runs	38
Runs Batted In	114
Hits	139
Runs Scored	89
Stolen Bases	0
On Base Percentage	.361
Slugging Percentage	.548

On November 23, 2005, the Mets traded Mike Jacobs and two minor leaguers 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. Hitting between fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Beltran and star thirdbaseman 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 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.

[edit] 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 [3]. Angry New York fans booed him and, when Delgado lined out in the bottom 7th inning, fans chanted "USA, USA" even though Delgado, like all Puerto Ricans, is an American citizen. 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, Delgado backed down from his previous stance and stood for "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.

[edit] 2004 Conflict with Mets Special Assistant Tony Bernazard

During the 2004 off-season, Delgado - known for his intellectual self-pride - was deeply offended when a Special Assistant to General Manager Omar Minaya, and fellow Puerto Rican Tony Bernazard, attempted to gain an advantage in wooing the then-free agent first baseman by utilizing what Delgado termed "street Spanish." Delgado was heavily critical in public of the Mets' negotiating tactics. He reportedly referred to Bernazard as "the highest-paid translator on the planet" after meeting him and Minaya for a face-to-face negotiating session at baseball's Winter Meetings. Bernazard, who is known for his flamboyant antics around the Mets offices and Shea Stadium, downplayed the incident, which was ultimately resolved when the Mets acquired Delgado in December 2005.

[edit] Trivia

• Carlos Delgado was one of the first Puerto Rican players to agree to play for Puerto Rico in the MLB World Baseball Classic, representing the island.

• Despite playing only two games (one as a catcher and one as a DH) and having one at-bat with the Blue Jays in 1993, Delgado was awarded a World Series championship ring after the team won the World Series.

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

• On August 22, 2006, Delgado hit his 400th career home run, a grand slam, off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Weaver at Shea Stadium. He is the only player whose 400th home run was a grand slam.

• In his postseason debut, Delgado went 4 for 5 with a solo home run, finishing with 2 RBI, to lead the Mets to a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2006 National League Division Series. Delgado also became the fifth player in major league history to hit 4-for-4 in his postseason debut.

• Prior to the 2006 World Baseball Classic, tournament organizers printed team shirts and jerseys with the most popular players' names and numbers. A handful of Delgado shirts were printed with the #21, which is Roberto Clemente's former number. When a young kid visited Delgado in his Aguadilla home, Delgado realized he had been assigned #21 and requested that he be reassigned a new number. The humble Delgado did not feel like he should represent Puerto Rico with #21, as this is reserved for Clemente. Jerseys and shirts were then recalled and reprinted with the #25. Due to a leg injury, Delgado was unable to play for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of players from Puerto Rico in Major League Baseball
• List of Puerto Ricans

[edit] External links

• Carlos Delgado at ESPN.com
• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• 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

Preceded by: Shawn Green	Batters with 4 home runs in one game September 25, 2003	Succeeded by: none
Preceded by: Manny Ramirez	American League Hank Aaron Award 2000	Succeeded by: Alex Rodriguez