Unlike many sportswriters, I'm making the case for Carlos Delgado. I've read countless articles lately giving reasons why Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens should make it into the Hall of Fame and it still leaves me scratching my head. The same people will go on to say Carlos Delgado shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. Well Carlos, I've got your back and would pick you over a pair of PED users any day. Not only was Carlos a great hitter, he may have been the greatest hitter in Blue Jays history. He had multiple MVP quality seasons, two of which stick out more than the rest. In 2000 Carlos had a .344 Batting Average, 137 RBI, 41 Home Runs, 57 Doubles and .470 On-Base Percentage. Out of the three men ahead of him, two were confirmed PED users and the other was Frank Thomas. However he had the better season when it came to total bases and extra base hits. Only Giambi got on base more and well we know why he did so well.
Then there was 2003, this time Carlos came in second in the MVP voting. But even though he had the better season, he lost to a PED user. Carlos had a .302 Batting Average, 38 Doubles, 42 Home Run and a league leading 145 RBI. He also led in OPS and OPS+. But everyone loved A-Rod, right?
But two seasons aren't enough for the Hall of Fame, so let look at the twelve he spent in Toronto. During his time in Toronto let say he broke a few team records including Home Runs, RBI, Runs, Slugging Percentage, Walks, Doubles, Total Bases, Extra Base Hits, OPS, Times On Base, Hit by Pitch, Intentional Walks, Runs Created and at bats per Home Run. Is it just me or is breaking that many records enough to get into the Hall of Fame? I guess you're not convinced.
Carlos didn't end his career at twelve years though. he spent four and a half more years with the Marlins and Mets. There he was able to hit another 140 Doubles, 137 Home Runs and 454 RBI. That would bring his career totals to 483 Double, 473 Home Runs and 1512 RBI. Pair those numbers with a .280 Batting Average and a .383 On-Base Percentage and you have a Hall of Famer.
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