An Amateur Free Agent signee in 1988, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Delgado first made the Blue Jays roster in 1993, but it was not until 1996 that he was an everyday player at First.
Delgado began a ten-year streak of at least 30 Home Runs in 1997 (though the last two were with other teams), and three of those seasons saw the slugger exceed 100. A bona fide run generator, Delgado drove in at least 100 runners six times with Toronto, including a league-leading 145 in 2003. That was his best season in the Majors, where he was second in MVP voting, won The Sporting News Player of the Year Award, and won his third and final Silver Slugger.
As good as Delgado was, he was unable to play in any playoff games with the Jays, who went into sharp decline after their second World Series win in 1993. He was easily the Jays best batter from 1996 to 2004, after which he left for the Marlins as a Free Agent.
As of this writing, Delgado is the all-time franchise leader in Offensive bWAR (39.4), Plate Appearances (6,018), Runs Scored (889), Home Runs (336), and RBIs (1,058), and is a member of the Blue Jays Level of Excellence. He was also named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
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