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Features Delgado Hits 400th Dinger

Congratulations to former Jay Carlos Delgado, who hit his 400th career home run yesterday. I may be missing someone, but I believe only four men who have ever played with the Jays for any amount of time have reached that particular milestone -- Fred McGriff (493), Dave Winfield (465), Jose Canseco (462) and now Delgado. Joe Carter hit 396.

Though four of those five men have earned a place in Blue Jay lore -- one of them partly for being traded for one of the others -- is it safe to assume that Delgado will be the first Jay (of any length of service) to reach the once-magical 500 mark? How many will he end up with? Will he wear a Jay or "NYM" into Cooperstown? And are any other former Jays on the radar to reach the 400 and then 500 milestones?

Posted by Mick Doherty on Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:08 PM EDT.
Delgado Hits 400th Dinger | 26 comments | Create New Account
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Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:30 PM EDT (#153895) #
I thought Dave Parker hit 400+, but it turns out he only hit 339.  That stretch in the early 80's really hurt him.

Anyhow, congrats for Delgado!  It would have been nice to see the greatest Blue Jay ever hit his 400th with the team, but hopefully he'll be back in time for #500.

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Paul D - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:33 PM EDT (#153897) #
If there's not strike, I think McGriff has 500 homers, which makes the Hall closer for him.

As it is, I think he'll be on the outside looking in.

I'm torn about Delgado.  If he wins a WS (or two) with the Mets, spends 6 years there, gets his 400th and 500th HRs there, I could see the temptation for him to go in as a Met.

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Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:35 PM EDT (#153898) #
If Delgado plays for four or five years with the Mets and wins a World Series, there will be the same debate there was when Gary Carter went in the Hall.
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js_magloire - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:44 PM EDT (#153900) #
Delgado will make 500, he's only 34 and is possibly 4 years away. He wont go far beyond 500 though. He did spend 10 years in Toronto, but 10 of the most mediocre years imagineable.... the Yankees were the story from 1996 - mid-2000's. We did nothing.

Others to make 500 will be AROD, Thome, Ramirez, Thomas, Sheffield, Pujols.

Bagwell and PIazza won't, and the rest will have to wait for a new generation of careers.

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Mick Doherty - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:53 PM EDT (#153901) #

I think Thomas and Sheffield are dicey for health reasons.

And as for your list, mostly agree but there's a Mr. Guerrero who'd like a word with you ...

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AWeb - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:59 PM EDT (#153903) #

... is it safe to assume that Delgado will be the first Jay (of any length of service) to reach the once-magical 500 mark?

That depends on your definition of safe I suppose. He appears likely to make it, but he does need three more years (or so) of full time production to make it. A lot can happen in three years, and Delgado is entering the years now where declines do occasionally happen quickly and irrevocably (like Jaun Gonzales or Dale Murphy).

How many will he end up with?

Let's see, how about 550 or so.

Will he wear a Jay or "NYM" into Cooperstown?

If there is any justification for him wearing a non-Jays hat if/when he's made a HoFer, he's going to have one hell of a career finish with the Mets. One where my 550 guess for career HRs looks silly in retrospect. More realistically, I can see the Gary Carter/NYM debate coming up again, but as in that case, where Carter played his best and most in Montreal, whoever is in charge will make the right call again.

And are any other former Jays on the radar to reach the 400 and then 500 milestones?

Shawn Green might have a shot at 400, but it's not looking good right now (320 or so, and slowing down). Jeff Kent is over 340, and I don't think he'll make 400, but he has a shot if he keeps playing.

Hmmm...how about the opposite end, pitchers? 400 homers allowed is a very exclusive group, with only 8 members. I love that list of pitchers, it's practically a definitve list of the borderline HoF pitchers, on both sides of the fence.

Clemens has given up 350 HR, but he'd retire before he let another season get bad enough to break 400. Wells is rapidly approaching 400, and might make it this year (383 and counting). Will he be back next year? Steve Trachsel is cruising past 300 now, and might make it in a few years if he hangs around.
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Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 12:59 PM EDT (#153904) #
Plus Andruw Jones already has 330 homeruns and he's not yet 30.

He likely won't continue at this pace, but he easily could do a Griffey like limp to 500+.

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Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 01:02 PM EDT (#153905) #
"Clemens has given up 350 HR, but he'd retire before he let another season get bad enough to break 400. Wells is rapidly approaching 400, and might make it this year (383 and counting). Will he be back next year? Steve Trachsel is cruising past 300 now, and might make it in a few years if he hangs around."

Radke should be a lock for this.  He's given up 325 and he's only 33.  With a 12-9 record, ERA under 4-and-a-half and another ~200 IP season, he'll be around quite a few more years.
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Pistol - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 01:05 PM EDT (#153906) #

It sounds like Radke is retiring at the end of the year.

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Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 01:08 PM EDT (#153909) #
"It sounds like Radke is retiring at the end of the year."

Is he?  I hadn't heard that.  I really hope he doesn't - he's one of my favourite pitchers to watch.
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Gerry - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 01:13 PM EDT (#153912) #

Radke being saying that for some time now.  It's related to his partially torn labrum, you might have heard the specifics of his between game routine when the Jays were in Minny recently.

If he has the surgery he might be done for a year anyway.

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Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 01:20 PM EDT (#153914) #
I heard he was having some problems; I guess I discounted how serious they are given that he's pitched pretty well so far this year.

I just read a few articles through Google News - you guys are right, it does sound quite serious.

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Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 03:43 PM EDT (#153925) #
"Delgado is currently tied with David Wells for 57th place among active players on the Bill James' "Hall of Fame Monitor List" which incorporates the things that voters typically take into account. "

No, he was 57th on the list about 6 months ago.

Now he's hit 400HR, he gains 7 points.  Plus his 30 homer season gives him another 2.  That gives him 97.5 points, gaining him a few spots in the rankings.
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Magpie - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 03:44 PM EDT (#153926) #
It's now the Hall of Fame itself that decides which logo goes on the player's cap, ever since Wade Boggs tried to have himself immortalized as a Devil Ray.

It was just a few weeks ago when I noted Delgado as one of ten active players who should clear 500 HRs (the others being Rodriguez, Pujols, Jones, Ramirez, Thome, Sheffield, Thomas, Guerrero, and Beltran).

I figure on Delgado ending up with about 550, which wil provide him with enough Fame to make the Hall.
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Magpie - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 03:53 PM EDT (#153928) #
As for former Jays, I don't expect Troy Glaus or Vernon Wells to retire as Blue Jays. Glaus should clear 400 easily, and depending on how long and productive his eventual career as a DH/1B turns out, he has an outside chance at 500. I think Wells could make it past 400.
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daryn - Wednesday, August 23 2006 @ 08:21 PM EDT (#153952) #
I don't suppose Carlos hit 5 home runs yesterday?

As I understand it, (this came around on my SABR email list but I haven't figured out how to confirm it), on the day Carlos hit his 100th, he got two homers that day,
3 on the day he hit his 200th, and 4 on the day he hit his 300th...

I suppose that gets to be a pretty hard streak to maintain.

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VBF - Thursday, August 24 2006 @ 09:38 PM EDT (#154067) #

Every Friday at the Rogers Centre is Flashback Fridays, for those that live outside Toronto. Anyways, before the lineups are announced the video boards play a sequence of important events that defined Blue Jays history. One of the last highlights shown is the day Carlos Delgado hit four homers against the Devilrays, one of which was his 300th.

It's funny--it hasn't even been two years since Delgado last played a game for the Jays, yet it seems like an eternity ago. It's sad in a way to see him so distanced from his home in Toronto and I have to say that as a fan, it hurt when he didn't sound that thrilled or emotional when he visited here for the first time last June. I hope he still has a place in his heart for Toronto and that he can one day come back here.

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