In his 12 seasons with the team, the Puerto Rico native went on to become the franchise leader in several offensive categories including home runs (336), RBIs (1,058), walks (827), slugging percentage (.556), OPS (.949), runs (889), extra-base hits (690), doubles (343), total bases (2,786) and intentional walks (128).
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| Pat Gillick and Carlos Delgado |
Delgado becomes the 10th person to be honoured with the team award, joining former players Dave Stieb, George Bell, Tony Fernandez, Joe Carter, and Roberto Alomar, former manager Cito Gaston, announcer Tom Cheek, former general manager Pat Gillick, and current team president Paul Beeston,
I often forget how good Delgado was as a Blue Jay, perhaps because the team did not make the playoffs while he was performing well, specifically in 2003 - hitting .302 with 42 home runs and 145 RBIs - when he was runner-up to Alex Rodriguez in voting for the American League MVP award that year. I've heard Delgado's former teammate Shawn Greene often refer to Delgado - who was picked up by the Blue Jays as a catcher out of José de Diego High School in Puerto Rico - as one of the smartest players in the game, resulting in he being able outwit pitchers and be a prolific hitter. But he also could do it defensively, with Beeston even calling him "one of the finest first basemen of his generation,”
An on-field ceremony will be held at Rogers Centre on July 21 before Toronto's game against Tampa Bay.
Photo credit: Kevin Frayer/Canadian Press
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