Carlos Delgado
From The Met Wiki
| Age: 37 (born June 25, 1972) |
| Position: First Base |
| Bats: Left Throws: Right |
| Number: 21 |
| Acquired: For Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit |
| Contract: 1 year, $12 million |
Met General Manager Omar Minaya, who had already signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, tried to complete his first offseason with the Mets by signing a third star, Carlos Delgado. Delgado instead chose to sign with the Florida Marlins, and criticized the way Minaya tried to play on Latin loyalties to lure him.
However the Marlins attempts to increase their operating budget failed, and after one season they decided to dump Delgado and return to being a low budget team. The Mets acquired him for top prospects Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit. As a player traded one year into a new contrract, Delgado was entitled after one year with the Mets to demand to be traded or granted free agency. However his contract was backloaded, and a new contract would probably not have equalled the one he would give up, and Delgado did not demand the trade.
He had a monster April, with 9 homers and an OPS over 1.000 as he helped the Mets get off to a great start in his first season, 2006. Delgado slowed, but still hit 38 homers and finished with an OPS over .900. He then had a monster postseason -- his only postseason so far during the first 16 years of his likely Hall of Fame career. Delgado hit .351 with 4 homers in 37 at bats, and a 1.199 OPS for the postseason, but stood on deck watching the season come to an abrupt end.
In 2007, Delgado had by far his worst season in a decade, with a .781 OPS with only 24 homers and a .254 average.
In 2008 he hit rock bottom. Lasik eye surgery was subsequently blamed for some of his early season woes. By early June he was hitting .224 with an OPS under .700 and increased questions about his defense. The Mets were the league's most disappointing team. Delgado's struggles certainly weren't the Mets' only problem, but they were a big part of them. Delgado seemed to be slower at the plate (and on the field), and no longer seemed able to turn on a fastball.
And then, two weeks after Willie Randolph was let go (a move that Delgado and Carlos Beltran particularly seemed extremely happy about) Delgado suddenly regained his form. From July through the end of the season Delgado's OPS was over 1.000. By September Met fans were chanting MVP for him (which was preposterous, especially when teammate David Wright was having a much better season), but Delgado's turnaround was one of the most dramatic in Met history. Delgado finished 9th in MVP voting, after being nearly released in June. (For the second straight year, Wright finished fourth).
Delgado got off to a fast start in 2009, but has recently struggled.
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[edit] In Toronto
Carlos played only two games in 1993, did not have a hit, and did not play in the postseason -- but the Blue Jays still gave him a World Series ring. He did not play more than 43 games in either of the next two seasons. In 1996 he played 138 games and hit 25 home runs with 92 RBI, and that was just the start. In each of the next two seasons he hit over 30 home runs. In his next 7 seasons in Toronto he hit at least 39 home runs 6 times and drove in over 100 runs 6 times.
[edit] Carlos in Florida
Delgado was a free agent in the offseason before 2005. He chose to sign with the Marlins. He signed a four-year deal worth $52 million. He played only one season there hitting .301 with 33 home runs and 115 RBI before getting traded to the Mets in the offseason before 2006.
[edit] In New York
In the offseason before the 2006 season the Marlins traded Delgado to the New York Mets for Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit. In his first season in New York he only had a .265 AVG but he did have 38 home runs and 114 RBI.
At the end of the season he won the Roberto Clemente Award
In 2007 Delgado had a bad season. He hit just .258 with 24 home runs and 87 RBI. He had a terribly slow start in 2008, but he bounced back with a monstrous second half. He ended up with 38 home runs 115 RBI and a .271 AVG.
At the end of the season the Mets picked up their option for one year at $12 million for the 2009 season so he will be back for at least one more season.
[edit] Extra Bases
Carlos Delgado is known for his great bat, but he is also known for what he does off the baseball diamond. He and his wife, Betzaida are running a foundation call "Extra Bases," established in 2001, a non-profit organization. Carlos is also a member of the NY action team, a national youth volunteer program.
