Delgado In Rare Company

With Carlos Delgado coming out of his long slump, one thing has been a bit under-played in the media. Once he hit his 30th dinger, Delgado became one of only 4 players to hit 30 homers in 10 straight seasons, something even Hank Aaron and Willie Mays never accomplished! Delgado's career totals of 400 homers, 1263 RBI's, a .559 Slugging Percentage & a .284 average, over 13 years is more than compatible with Hall-Of-Famer Orlando Cepeda's stats - 17 years, 379 homers, 1365 RBI's, a .499 Slugging Percentage and a .297 batting average. The "baby bull" was a first baseman, like Delgado, and was one of the first Designated Hitters in the AL in the early 70's. Delgado is a true offensive force and when he is hot is capable of carrying a club on his shoulders. It should be noted that, although he has taken heat over his defense, this converted catcher has proven to be far more solid at first base then people gave him credit for. We'd bet he ends up with 44 homers and 120 RBI's when all is said and done- and it certainly must make him smile to know that his best friend, Shawn Green, will be hitting 2 slots behind him!