12up Logo

Shawn Green Insists Carlos Delgado is a Hall of Famer and He's Extremely Wrong

By Alexander Wolz

Carlos Delgado was great! He's also not a Hall of Famer.
Carlos Delgado was great! He's also not a Hall of Famer. / Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

As Major League Baseball sits in a hiatus, it is an ideal time to take a look back and reevaluate some of the game's former greats.

Columnist Will Leitch chose to celebrate the on and off-field accomplishments of Carlos Delgado this week, a mammoth slugger from the '90s and '00s who could likely use a bit more love. His remembrance elicited Delgado's ex-Blue Jays teammate Shawn Green to wax a bit poetic about the man.

Hall of Famer? We're not so sure.

A two-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, Delgado was an impressive swinger. Spending a majority of his career with the Blue Jays, Delgado cemented himself as one of the game's best hitters with 10 consecutive seasons of at least 30 home runs. Despite the numbers, though, Delgado failed to drive the Blue Jays into the postseason, and he played during an era where boffo power numbers were more of the norm.

A short stint in Florida ended due to Delgado's massive contract, but he bounced back with a dramatic four-year career with the Mets, bringing them to the doorstep of a World Series. Delgado's time ultimately reached its end due to extensive injuries, but with a wide number of accolades to show for his tenure.

Delgado's career was an impressive one, without question. However, we need to be careful when jumping from "impressive" to Hall of Fame. Delgado put up monster numbers for an extended period of time, but didn't weave himself tremendously into the fabric of the game, especially considering that he walked away without a championship, only ending one career season in October. Falling off the ballot after just one year, though? That is a bit questionable, but the Hall of Fame result often tend to be.

As for why Green showed his support for Delgado? They were longtime teammates in Toronto and reunited in New York. They also both happened to belt four home runs in a single game. It all adds up.

Humorously enough, we probably wouldn't even be debating this if Delgado had hit 27 more home runs, reaching the 500 mark cleanly. As it stands, he's a top-tier performer who would rank as a below-average Hall of Famer by most comparative metrics. Sorry, Shawn.