Carlos Delgado Retires; Is He A Hall of Famer?

Former Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado announced his retirement from baseball yesterday after a 17-year career that saw him become one of the most consistent power hitters in baseball.

From his major league debut as a catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993 to his final game as a Met in 2009, Delgado gave pitchers headaches by hurting them when he swung the bat (473 career HR) and when he didn't (1,109 career walks).

But is Carlos Delgado a Hall of Famer? Let's look at a few of his career numbers and decide for ourselves.

Delgado finished his career with 473 HR and 483 doubles, falling just short of the 500 mark in both categories. Only ten players in major league history have reached that number in both categories: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Robinson, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, Ted Williams and Eddie Murray. Of those ten, six are in the Hall of Fame. The other four are either not yet eligible (Bonds, Griffey) or admitted steroid users (Palmeiro, Ramirez). As of now, Delgado has never been attached to steroids, so one has to believe his power numbers were all attained legitimately.

Only six men in major league history hit 30 or more home runs in ten consecutive seasons. Alex Rodriguez (1998-2010), Barry Bonds (1992-2004), Jimmie Foxx (1929-1940), Sammy Sosa (1995-2004) and Albert Pujols (2001-2010) have all accomplished this rare feat. The other player to do it was Carlos Delgado, who hit 30 or more blasts every season from 1997 to 2006.

For 13 consecutive seasons, Delgado drove in at least 87 runs, including nine years of 100+ RBI and seven campaigns where he drove in no fewer than 114 runs. In two seasons that he failed to drive in 100 runs, he missed significant time with an assortment of injuries. Delgado picked up 99 RBI in 2004, despite not playing in 34 games. Then in 2007, as a member of the Mets, Delgado finished the year with 87 RBI. Although 2007 was viewed as an off-year for the slugger, he also missed 23 games, which denied him the opportunity to approach triple digits in RBI.

While on the topic of runs batted in, Carlos Delgado finished his career with 1,512 RBI, making him one of 51 players to surpass the 1,500 plateau. Thirty-six of those players have already received their golden ticket to Cooperstown, while the majority of the others are either still active or not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Despite his gaudy power numbers, Delgado never won an MVP Award, although that could be attributed to the fact that he never played for a playoff team until he played for the Mets in 2006. He also only made two All-Star teams and won three Silver Slugger Awards, both numbers that are very low for potential Hall of Famers.

So does Delgado get elected to Cooperstown when he becomes eligible in 2015?

Rafael Palmeiro, whose power numbers exceed Delgado's, received support from only 11% of the voters in the most recent Hall of Fame election. However, he was found to have used steroids during the latter part of his career, which kept his vote total low. Jeff Bagwell was never directly linked to steroids, but only received 41% of the vote in January, despite averaging over 100 RBI and 100 runs scored per season throughout his entire career (1,529 RBI and 1,517 runs scored in 15 seasons). Both Palmeiro and Bagwell were contemporaries of Delgado. That could work against him in 2015.

Another thing that could work against him is the controversy he generated when he chose not to stand for the singing of "God Bless America" due to his personal convictions against the United States' involvement in Iraq. Although Delgado is entitled to his opinions, his silent protest came at a time when Americans were peaking with patriotism, and his stance was viewed by some as being unpatriotic and anti-American, although he has vehemently denied this on multiple occasions.

Despite the potential roadblocks, it cannot be denied that Delgado was highly successful as a major league baseball player. His power numbers are among the best of his era, if not all-time. But until players like Jeff Bagwell, Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza get into the Hall of Fame (the latter two will become eligible in 2013), it will be difficult for Delgado to get in.

For a power hitter to reach the Hall of Fame in this era, he'll have to bring more to the table, whether it be speed, Gold Glove-caliber defense, or regular trips to the postseason. Carlos Delgado stole 14 bases in his career, never won a Gold Glove Award and only reached the playoffs once (he was not on the postseason roster when the Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993). Maybe someday Delgado will make the Hall of Fame, but don't expect it to be in 2015.

Joey's Small Bites: While My Co-Blogger Gently Sleeps

Yesterday, I made my first appearance at Citi Field to "enjoy" the home opener . I invited my co-blogger and my fav'rit Studious Metsimus consultant to join me on Opening Day. After all, they could swipe me through the turnstiles with their MetroCards since I had no pockets in my hoodie to carry mine.

Unfortunately, my co-blogger decided to wear shorts and not wear his gray Mets hoodie on an overcast 40-something degree day. Now he's lying in bed with such a horrible sore throat and cough, you'd think he swallowed Keith Hernandez's mustache.

Therefore, since he's too sick to say it, I'll give you the rundown on what's happening today at Citi Field before the game. The aforementioned fav'rit Studious Metsimus consultant and I will be taking the field to meet and greet an unnamed Met before the first pitch. It will not be the first time I've taken the field at a ballgame, as I once stole second base last year.

Luis Castillo wasn't able to keep a hold on second base for the Mets. I found it quite easy to do.

In case you were wondering, I did not get injured as I slid into second base, but I did have a few pebbles up my...

As I was saying earlier, before tonight's 7:10 PM game against the Washington Nationals, I will be taking the field with Taryn Cooper. You know her from Kiner's Korner (the website, not the show that former Cardinals' pitcher Ricky Horton wanted to get on so badly that he would practice in front of his mirror as a youth) and Mets Merized Online.

If you're at the game, please look out for us wreaking havoc on the infield dirt or outfield grass. We won't know which player we'll be meeting or which position we'll be occupying. But we do know that it will be lots of fun and a once in a lifetime experience that we hope happens again.

(Note: For those of you wondering about the so-called "Joey Jinx", where I take a photo with a Mets player and that player subsequently gets injured and/or traded, we are taking all precautions so that that doesn't happen tonight. But the players are signing waivers just in case...)

Also, to my co-blogger, please feel better soon. As you know, I couldn't carry my wallet in my hoodie either, so it'll be up to you to carry the money for food. I hope you have my chicken nachos ready for me for when I come back to my seat. After all, if the Mets lose again today, I might need to drown my sorrows in shredded chicken and chips.

Nachos Grande, $7.75. Chicken Nachos, $9.25. The experience of eating them at Citi Field, priceless.

For Mike Pelfrey, The Hits Just Keep On Comin'

Mike Pelfrey is entering his sixth season with the Mets, compiling a 43-41 record over his first five seasons in New York (43-42 after his Opening Day loss to the Florida Marlins). Although Pelfrey is just 27 years old, there have been only 17 pitchers in franchise history who have won more games than Big Pelf.

More than likely, Pelfrey will continue to move up the all-time wins leaderboard as his career progresses, but how much longer will he pitch for the Mets, especially if he continues to give up base hits at an alarming rate?

Consider the facts. In his first two starts of the 2011 season, Pelfrey has given up 12 hits in 6 1/3 innings, a rate of nearly two hits per inning. Let's compare that to the 17 pitchers who rank ahead of Pelfrey on the all-time club leaderboard for wins.

1. Tom Seaver (12 years, 198 wins): no seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
2. Dwight Gooden (11 years, 157 wins): one season with more hits than innings pitched.
3. Jerry Koosman (12 years, 140 wins): no seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
4. Ron Darling (9 years, 99 wins): one season with more hits than innings pitched.
5. Sid Fernandez (10 years, 98 wins): no seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
6. Al Leiter (7 years, 95 wins): no seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
7. Jon Matlack (7 years, 82 wins): one season with more hits than innings pitched.
8. David Cone (7 years, 81 wins): one season with more hits than innings pitched.
9. Bobby Jones (8 years, 74 wins): five seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
10. Steve Trachsel (6 years, 66 wins): two seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
11. Tom Glavine (5 years, 61 wins): four seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
12. Rick Reed (5 years, 59 wins): two seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
13. Craig Swan (12 years, 59 wins): four seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
14. Bob Ojeda (5 years, 51 wins): one season with more hits than innings pitched.
15. John Franco (14 years, 48 wins): five seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
16. Tug McGraw (9 years, 47 wins): two seasons with more hits than innings pitched.
17. Jesse Orosco (8 years, 47 wins): one season with more hits than innings pitched.

Dwight Gooden's sole season allowing more hits than innings pitched was 1994. That was his final season in a Mets uniform. Ron Darling also had one such season in his career, which came in his final full season as a Met (1990). In 1977, Jon Matlack suffered his first season with more hits than innings pitched. He never did it again as a Met because that was his final year in New York. The only year in which David Cone gave up better than a hit per inning was (you guessed it) his final season (2003), when he allowed 20 hits in 18 innings.

Bob Ojeda and Jesse Orosco also finished their Mets careers with only one season giving up more hits than innings pitched. In both cases, that season came in their final year with the Mets.

Of the seven pitchers who allowed more hits than innings pitched in multiple seasons (Jones, Trachsel, Glavine, Reed, Swan, Franco, McGraw), all but one of them accomplished the feat in his final full season in New York. The lone exception was John Franco, who barely missed, allowing exactly one hit per inning in 2004 (46 hits in 46 innings pitched).

So that brings us back to Mike Pelfrey. How many times do you think he's allowed more hits than innings pitched over a full season? Once? Twice? Take a look at his career numbers below:

• 2006: 21.1 innings pitched, 25 hits allowed.
• 2007: 72.2 innings pitched, 85 hits allowed.
• 2008: 200.2 innings pitched, 209 hits allowed.
• 2009: 184.1 innings pitched, 213 hits allowed.
• 2010: 204.0 innings pitched, 213 hits allowed.
• 2011: 6.1 innings pitched, 12 hits allowed.

Mike Pelfrey has allowed more hits than innings pitched in EVERY SEASON that he's pitched in the major leagues! Judging by his start this season, he might be on his way to his sixth consecutive season allowing more hits than innings pitched. Of the 17 pitchers who rank ahead of Pelfrey in career victories as a Met, none accomplished the feat more than five times.

Because of Johan Santana's injury, Pelfrey is now the de facto No. 1 pitcher in the rotation. But looking over his career numbers, the only thing Pelfrey is No. 1 in is allowing base hits. Considering the fates of other Mets pitchers who gave up more hits than innings pitched, especially late in their careers, Mike Pelfrey should be careful when he turns around. Another team's uniform might be gaining on him.

You Call This A Rivalry?

New York and Philadelphia are separated by less than 100 miles, making the Phillies the closest geographical rivals to the Mets in the National League. However, upon further inspection of the NL East standings over the past half-century, "rivals" might not be the correct word to use.

Since the Mets came into existence in 1962, both the Phillies and the Mets have finished with a winning record in the same season a mere eight times.

• 1975: Phillies (86-76, 2nd place); Mets (82-80, 3rd place)
• 1976: Phillies (101-61, 1st place); Mets (86-76, 3rd place)
• 1986: Mets (108-54, 1st place); Phillies (86-75, 2nd place)
• 2001: Phillies (86-76, 2nd place); Mets (82-80, 3rd place)
• 2005: Phillies (88-74, 2nd place); Mets (83-79, 3rd place)
• 2006: Mets (97-65, 1st place); Phillies (85-77, 2nd place)
• 2007: Phillies (89-73, 1st place); Mets (88-74, 2nd place)
• 2008: Phillies (92-70, 1st place); Mets (89-73, 2nd place)

Meanwhile, over the same time period, other well-known traditional rivals have had much more of a rivalry. Since 1962, the Red Sox and Yankees have both finished with winning records in the same season 30 times, including each of the last 13 seasons. The Dodgers and Giants have both been above .500 in the same season 22 times since 1962. Even the Cubs and Cardinals have both finished with winning records in the same season 14 times in the past half-century, which is remarkable considering that the Cubs have only had 18 winning seasons overall since 1962.

Prior to 2007, the Mets and Phillies never had a bonafide rivalry. Although the two teams finished in first and second place in the NL East in both 1986 and 2006, the Mets won the division handily each time. Not until the back-to-back collapses suffered by the Mets in 2007 and 2008 did the teams play for a division title. Unfortunately, those two seasons were the only two in which the Mets and Phillies had a legitimate rivalry in the standings, as the Phillies continued winning in 2009 and 2010, while the Mets forgot how to do so.

Therefore, although it is very early in the season, when the 3-1 Mets take on the 3-1 Phillies tonight at Citizens Bank Park, it will mark one of the few times over the past half-century that both teams have been in the top two positions in the NL East as they played each other.

It may be silly to say that tonight's game is a battle for first place, but why not say it? After all, battles for division supremacy between the Mets and the Phillies have been about as rare as the Cubs winning the World Series. But at least the Cubs have more of a rivalry with another divisional foe.

Enjoy seeing tonight's first place showdown between the Mets and the Phillies while you can. It might be the only time we can say that this season.

Dickeypedia Word of The Week: Asphyxiation

After not being heard from in a few weeks, R.A. Dickey has provided us with another nugget that required the use of Dickeypedia to decipher.

According to a recent New York Times article by David Waldstein, Dickey revealed that he plans to scale Mount Kilimanjaro during the off-season. The knuckler (who is donating money to charity with this endeavor) claimed that his inspiration for the climb was the Ernest Hemingway book, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro", which he read as a junior in high school.

Dickey is aware that the Mets might not want their recently re-signed starter to perform such a dangerous activity, but also noted that there is no specific clause in his contract that prevents him from climbing a nearly 20,000 foot mountain.

“There is some risk involved that we won’t summit. There is oxygen asphyxiation, there can be rock avalanches, boulders falling. Someone could fall and break a wrist. All of those are attributable factors for why people don’t summit. But I don’t anticipate those will be problems for us.”

There is no language in Dickey's contract that would disallow him from attempting his climb. There is also no language to define Dickey's language in the above quote. But with one quick check of Dickeypedia, we came up with the definition to "asphyxiation":

asphyxiation:

• 1. the condition of being deprived of oxygen (as by having breathing stopped).
• 2. killing by depriving of oxygen.

Well, that's something different. In the past, Mets pitchers have sometimes caused their fans to stop breathing. Now R.A. Dickey is willing to do something that could cause him to do the same.

Speaking of not being able to breathe, the recently released Oliver Perez (We haven't heard from him on Studious Metsimus in at least an hour. What's wrong with us?) was asked if he could use the word "asphyxiation" in a sentence. Surprisingly enough, Ollie said yes to this request, but only when we assured him that it was not a fancy term for "minor league re-assignment", which he most certainly would have declined. Take it away, Ollie!

"When I was a child, I had a pet donkey. But my family was concerned because they thought she would give birth to many donkey babies. We tried taking her to our family doctor, but he said he couldn't fix animals. Therefore, to get her fixed, we had to take her to a donkey doctor, where he performed the asphyxiation."

There you have it, Mets fans. Oliver Perez couldn't fix his career by throwing strikes, but apparently, he thinks "asphyxiation" will fix his ass.

Hey, at least when R.A. Dickey attempts to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro after the season ends, if he needs a donkey to carry his provisions, Oliver Perez has one that won't get pregnant along the way. It looks like Oliver Perez might finally be of use to the Mets' starting staff after all!

Joey's Small Bites: Things I Noticed On Opening Day

Greetings, Mets fans! This is your fav'rit roving reporter/culinary expert Joey Beartran. Welcome to the first semi-regular installment of "Joey's Small Bites", where I present my opinions on anything Mets-related. However, unlike my "Joey's Soapbox" series, these will be abbreviated opinions, or "small bites" if you will. There's also a chance I may be having a snack while sharing my thoughts with you, but I will probably be taking bigger bites out of those.

In today's first installment, I will discuss my thoughts on last night's season opening loss against the Marlins, which looked as if it should have been Game No. 163 of the 2010 season.

Last year, Mike Pelfrey gave up two earned runs in the entire month of April. Last night, he gave up four runs on one swing of John Buck's bat. This is the same John Buck who had a .243 career average in seven seasons entering last night's game. I see Pelfrey is already in mid-season form, and by mid-season form, I mean last year's mid-season, when he finished with a 10.02 ERA in his five July starts.

David Wright said he was going to embrace being the team leader this year. He led the team all right; led them in strikeouts, that is. Wright struck out in each of his first two at-bats against Josh Johnson en route to an 0-for-4 evening at the plate.

The two Rule 5 picks (Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato) made their major league debuts last night, and both performed reasonably well.

Emaus reached base once in three plate appearances and did not follow David Wright's lead (Emaus didn't strike out). It was Emaus' walk on the seventh pitch of his at-bat that ended Josh Johnson's night, after Johnson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He also made a fine defensive play in the sixth inning, sliding to his left to prevent the runner on third from scoring.

Beato pitched two scoreless innings, allowing a long double to the first batter he faced (John Buck, who apparently wants to win the batting title this year) before retiring the next three batters he faced, then giving up two singles in his second inning of work, sandwiched around a timely double play. Oh, did we mention that Beato was also born on the same day the Mets last won the World Series (October 27, 1986, just like teammate Jonathon Niese) and lived most of his life in Queens, growing up in Woodside, home of Donovan's Pub, which serves the best burger in New York? No, seriously. Take a look at the photos below and see for yourself.



On a positive note, Carlos Beltran made his first start in right field and showed no signs of pain or discomfort. He went 1-for-4 at the plate, driving in the first run for the Mets on a seventh-inning double down the right field line and scoring the second run on a groundout by Ike Davis. He also played flawless defense and prevented a run from scoring by charging a ball in right field and throwing a bullet to Josh Thole at the plate to hold Omar Infante at third base.

Also welcome to this bear's eyes was Mookie Wilson wearing his familiar No. 1 as he made his return to first base coaching duties. When Mookie wore No. 51 in his first stint as first base coach in the mid-90s, it was because Lance Johnson was wearing No. 1. Of course, Johnson produced one of the best seasons in franchise history in 1996 (.333 batting average, 50 stolen bases and a franchise-record 227 hits and 21 triples), so he earned the right to wear No. 1 temporarily. But the last wearer of the number didn't earn a thing. Because Luis Castillo wouldn't give up his No. 1 to Mookie when the Mets legend was re-hired to coach first base, the Mookster had to wear the ungodly No. 53.


Castillo was eventually released before the end of spring training and Wilson got his familiar number back. On a night when not much else went right for the Mets, seeing Mookie wearing No. 1 was enough to make me smile.

I seemed to notice a lot on Opening Day, despite the fact that I was enjoying the game with one paw on the sliders and the other paw on the waffle fries. Yes, it was a tough loss, one that was reminiscent of many losses in 2010. After all, the Mets gave up 12 grand slams last season without hitting any, and last night, Pelfrey was victimized by the bases-clearing blast and the Mets didn't even come close to homering. But it was only Day 1 of a long season.

CLICHÉ ALERT! CLICHÉ ALERT!

Baseball is not a sprint. It's a marathon. The Mets and their fans have to take it one game at a time. One loss does not make or break the season. They'll be back in Game No. 2, and will do their best to win the ballgame.

END OF CLICHÉ ALERT! END OF CLICHÉ ALERT!

Tonight, Jonathon Niese hopes to build on his fine rookie season. Of course, last year the Marlins were a thorn in his side, as he went 1-4 with a 6.49 ERA in five starts against them.

Although I'm cautiously optimistic that Niese will be able to end his Marlin meltdown in Miami, I will be ordering an extra plate of sliders just in case. Considering all those fat, juicy pitches opposing hitters keep hitting for grand slams, I should have something fat and juicy myself.

Are You Ready For Some Baseball?

The Mets will raise the curtain on their 2011 season tonight against the Florida Marlins, the team that finished ahead of them by one game in the 2010 National League East standings and won one too many games against them at the end of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Despite the fact that most prognosticators (including this spherical one) have the Mets finishing around the .500 mark and no higher than third place, does that mean fans should give up on the season before the Opening Day player introductions are made?

Opening Day is the one day of the season when all teams are tied for first place, when every team believes this will be THEIR year. The Mets are no different. Why can't the Mets compete in the National League East or for the wild card? When the umpire tells the players to "play ball", is he writing it on paper? No, he is not. That's because the games aren't played on paper. So when everyone concedes the division to the Phillies and their R2C2 pitching staff (Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels), they're doing it because they're the sexiest team on paper. When so-called experts say teams like the Braves, Cardinals, Brewers, Padres and Rockies are all going to be contending for the wild card (if not their division title) come September, they're doing so on the proverbial paper.

No one foresaw the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series last year. They had good pitching, but they still had an offense that rivaled the 2009 Mets in futility, at least from a power standpoint. During the season, their good pitching became great and their supposed lack of power produced eight players who finished in double digits in home runs. The same could be said for the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds hadn't made the playoffs since 1995 and hadn't been a serious contender since the Mets eliminated them in a one-game playoff for the 1999 National League wild card berth. They had good hitters, but atrocious pitching. How did people know this? Because they saw it "on paper". Naturally, Cincinnati won the National League Central because their good hitting became exceptional, led by NL MVP Joey Votto, and their so-called atrocious pitching was actually better than decent.

What teams look like on paper don't always represent what they look like between the foul lines. A team might have a great offense "on paper" and then sputter on the field (see 2008 Detroit Tigers). Similarly, a team might think they have the makings of a fantastic pitching staff "on paper", but once those pitchers step on the mound, they pitch like Charlie Brown. (Does Generation K ring a bell?)

So the Mets look like a team that will finish in the middle of pack or lower in the National League East. That's what people are saying right now. On paper. What if Jose Reyes reverts to his 2008 form, especially now that he's playing for a contract? What if Angel Pagan continues to improve in all aspects of his game and hits .300 with 15 HR and 40 SB, while winning the Gold Glove? What if Carlos Beltran stays on the field all season and plays like a man who's in his walk year? What if more of Ike Davis' bombs target the Shea Bridge and the Pepsi Porch? What if Jason Bay only misses one week and comes back as Jason Bay, pre-2010? What if R.A. Dickey wasn't a fluke and shows what he can do over a full season instead of just 26 starts as he did last season? What if the other members of the Brainy Bunch (Chris Young and Chris Capuano) give the Mets a combined 50 starts and pitch the way they're capable of pitching when they're healthy? And I haven't even mentioned Johan Santana...

On paper, the Mets probably can't compete with the Phillies and some of the wild card contenders. But when they take the field tonight against the Marlins, that paper will have found its way into the shredder. It won't matter what people think the Mets are going to do. The Mets will go as far as their players will take them. That's the beauty of baseball. Any team can surprise the experts, especially those experts with lifetime subscriptions to "the paper". Maybe it will be the Mets, maybe it'll be another team.

Don't give up hope just because some paper says we should. Just sit back, relax and enjoy watching the Mets as they try to make the authors of the paper eat their words.

Happy Opening Day, everyone!