Marlins Delgado steady slugger

 

Switch to new team doesn't hurt hitting

 

By Glenn Miller

gmiller@news-press.com

 

ST. PETERSBURG ? Changes in countries, climates and leagues haven't affected Carlos Delgado.

 

The Florida Marlins first baseman is doing what he's always done ? hit for average and power. Day in. Day out. Year after year. And now, team after team.

 

Delgado turned 33 on Saturday. He was 1-for-4 with a two RBI in the Marlins' 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before an announced crowd of 13,232 at Tropicana Field.

 

Knocking in runs and hitting in general are things Delgado did with startling consistency when he played 10 seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has a streak of eight consecutive seasons with 30 or more homers. Only 13 other players have ever done that.

 

Delgado has 14 homers so far this season.

 

He had six seasons of 100 or more RBI with the Blue Jays.

 

He has 55 so far this season, well on his way to yet another 100- RBI season.

 

In all his time in Canada and in the American League, Delgado hit .303.

 

He's hitting .320 so far this year.

 

Some things never change. Delgado seems to be one of them.

 

He signed a four-year, $52 million contract with the Marlins on Jan. 27.

 

Moving south and to the U.S. and to the National League haven't affected Delgado.

 

"He's held up his end of the bargain," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.

 

Has he ever. Delgado reported to work Saturday ranking seventh in the National League in hitting, sixth in RBI and third in slugging percentage, .576. He's clearly a professional hitter.

 

"Just what he was advertised as," McKeon said.

 

Moving from the AL to the NL hasn't changed Delgado. Moving from Canada to the United States hasn't affected Delgado, who was born and resides in Puerto Rico. Moving from the cold and a domed stadium to humid south Florida and an open-air stadium haven't slowed Delgado.

 

"Different ballparks, different pitchers, same game," Delgado said before Saturday's game. "I think you can make it as complicated as you want. ... I look at it, I just come out and play the same game that I've been playing since I was a little kid."

 

Delgado's sustained success is no accident, according to Marlins pitcher Al Leiter. The Marlins' first baseman doesn't just show up at the park and hope he hits the ball.

 

"You see a lot of guys, especially young talented guys, can get away with doing a lot for a few years based on just superior talent," Leiter said. "But here's a guy, I didn't realize how involved he was with his scouting and his training, his attention to video looking for little nuances in (pitching) deliveries. He comes in, writes it down and refers to it."

 

Delgado can't imagine going about his job any other way.

 

"Obviously, you try to come up with a plan before you get out there," Delgado said. "You don't want to go out there naked."

 

Consistency is a by-product of that preparation.

 

"I think it's a lot of discipline, a lot of dedication," Delgado said. "That's my goal. I want to be consistent. I don't want to have a great month and then two bad months. You want to try to take the same approach to the plate day-in, day-out. We all know it's not going to work all the time. There's going to be some bad times and some times is going to be good times."

 

Delgado now has 350 career homers. His next homer will tie him on the all-time list with former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Dick Allen. He'll probably pass Hall-of-Famers Yogi Berra (358), Johnny Mize (359) and Joe DiMaggio (361) on the all-time homer list this season.

 

Does Delgado think about career goals?

 

"One day at a time, one season," Delgado said. "Then at the end of your career you can always look back and hopefully be good enough to have some great numbers. But I want to win. That's my main goal. That's the reason why I came here. You can have good individual numbers. Good personal career numbers but if you don't win, there's always something missing."

 

For now, he'll continue doing what he's always done? hit.

Fort Myers News-Press

Nice article.

 

It SUCKS!!! that he is not even among the top 5 in All-Star voting. I understand Pujols and Lee being in the first top 2, but Mientkiewicz, Choi and Bagwell???? Give me a break!!!

 

That tells you a lot about the All-Stars Game. It's more like the who-is-the-most-popular-for-the-idiotic-fan game. :banghead

Placing sixth gets as much as second place.

he should be 3rd in the voting honestly. Lee and Puljos are monsters but he should make the all star team at least.

I would love to see him in the homerun derby

the first month or so i was kind of skeptical of delgado. in the back of my mind i was remembering that he was switching leagues and ballparks. but now the only gripe i have of him is that he can strike out too much. He's on pace for more than 124 strikeouts this season. But I guess if you finish the season hitting above .300 w/ 30+ hr's and 120 rbis it doesnt matter how much you strike out.

Earlier in the year, he was doing very well. He just didn't have the RBI opportunities.