Athletes - Carlos Delgado

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	Athletes - Carlos Delgado

Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández (born June 25, 1972 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the New York Mets. Previously, Delgado played for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1993 to 2004 and the Florida Marlins in 2005. With the Mets, Delgado will wear number "21" on his baseball uniform jersey in honor of fellow Puerto Rican Major League Star and humanitarian Roberto Clemente, although he had previously been #25. (Delgado had originally worn #21 with the Blue Jays, but switched to #25 after the arrival of Roger Clemens to the team prior to the 1997 season. Clemens requested the number, and Carlos gladly obliged.)

Baseball Career

Delgado debuted with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 season. Originally a catcher, he switched to first baseman and rapidly became one of the most dangerous sluggers in the major leagues. A two-time All Star, in 2000 and 2003, Delgado holds a wide variety of Blue Jays single season and career records. He also won the Hank Aaron and TSN Player of the Year awards in 2000, and the Silver Slugger Award in 1999, 2000 and 2003.

On September 25, 2003, in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Delgado became only the fifth American League player and 15th major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game. He hit a three-run homer in the first inning, then led off the fourth, sixth and eighth innings with solo shots.

Delgado became a free agent following the 2004 season and was pursued by the Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, and Texas Rangers. On January 25, 2005, he finally chose the Marlins, signing a four-year contract worth a reported $52 million. His transition to the National League was very successful, hitting for a .301 batting average, .399 on base percentage, with 33 home runs and 115 runs batted in.

On November 23, 2005, the Mets, one of the teams which had pursued Delgado the previous off-season, struck a trade with Florida to send Mike Jacobs and two minor leaguers to the Marlins for Delgado and $7 million. The deal was part of a Marlins "market correction".

Through the 2005 season, in 13 years of major league service, Delgado had a career .284 batting average, and a .393 on-base percentage with 369 home runs and 1,173 runs batted in in 1,567 games.

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. In addition to Delgado, the team features fellow Puerto Ricans Ivan Rodriguez, Sandy Alomar, Jr. as catchers, Carlos Beltran, Bernie Williams, Jose Cruz, Jr. and Luis Matos as outfielders, Mike Lowell, José Vidro, Felipe Lopez, Alex Cintron and Carlos Baerga as infielders, and pitchers Javier Vazquez, Joel Pineiro, J.C. Romero and Kiko Calero amongst others, in a team managed by St. Louis Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo.

Social Activism

A well known humanitarian and peace activist, Delgado 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 of the military of the United States, 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. 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 . Angry New York fans booed him and, when Delgado lined out in the 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."

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Athletes - Carlos Delgado

Baseball Career

Social Activism

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