Carlos Delgado

Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández (born June 25, 1972) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball primarily as a first baseman, from 1993 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, where he was a member of the 1993 World Series-winning team, won the 2000 American League (AL) Hank Aaron Award, and was the 2003 AL RBI leader. He was also a two-time AL All-Star player and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner during his tenure with the Blue Jays.

Delgado holds the Major League Baseball record for career home runs by a Puerto Rican player with 473. He is one of only six players in Major League history to hit 30 home runs in ten consecutive seasons, becoming the fourth player to do so. During his 12 years with the Toronto Blue Jays, Delgado set many team records, including home runs (336), RBI (1,058), walks (827), slugging percentage (.556), on-base plus slugging (.949), runs (889), total bases (2,786), doubles (343), runs created (1,077), extra base hits (690), times on base (2,362), hit by pitch (122), intentional walks (128) and at bats per home run (14.9).

Delgado also played for the Florida Marlins and New York Mets. In 2006, he was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. On February 4, 2015, Delgado was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Delgado was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to Carlos "Cao" Delgado and Carmen Digna Hérnandez. He grew up in the El Prado section of Aguadilla. There, he attended elementary school alongside his three siblings. Both his father, "Don Cao", and his grandfather, Asdrúbal "Pingolo" Delgado, were well-known figures in the town. Delgado has said that this made him feel "protected," but that it also demanded that he had to behave properly.

Delgado attended Agustín Stahl Middle School and José de Diego High School, from which he graduated in 1989. Delgado has expressed his strong feelings of pride in being an Aguadillano, noting everything he holds dear is found in the municipality, and his off-season house is located there. He is friends with many people who live there, many of whom he played Little League baseball with.

At the age of 16, several major league organizations including the Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays saw his potential and attempted to sign him. He signed with the Blue Jays in 1988, after being discovered by team scout Epy Guerrero. In 1992, Delgado played for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League and produced 30 home runs and 100 RBI, leading the league in both categories, along with a .324 batting average. That season, he was named USA Today's Minor League Player of the Year. Before the 1993 season, he was named the number 4 prospect in the minor leagues by Baseball America and was promoted to the Double-A Knoxville Smokies. That year, he hit .303 with 25 home runs, 102 RBI, and 102 walks, winning the Southern League MVP Award.

As a September call-up, he made his major league debut on October 1, 1993, drawing a walk in his first career plate appearance. Though he didn't play in the 1993 postseason, in which the Blue Jays won the World Series, he was awarded a World Series ring. Originally a catcher, Delgado played in left field for the Blue Jays in 1994 and 1995, before switching to first base, where he became one of the most productive sluggers in the major leagues. Starting in 1997, he hit at least 30 home runs in ten consecutive seasons. 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.

In 1999, Delgado hit a career-high 44 home runs, along with 134 RBI, and a .272 batting average. The next year, he batted a career-high .344, along with 41 home runs, 57 doubles, and 137 RBI. He finished fourth in the 2000 American League MVP voting.