Toronto Blue Jays: One of the organization’s top players is already off HOF ballot

This Top Jays Player is Already off HOF Ballot

In 2015, Delgado would find himself on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, only to see his name collect 3.8% of the votes from the BBWAA voters and fall below the 5% minimum threshold to stay on the ballot for another year. Just like that, Delgado’s name was gone from the list.

For many Blue Jays fans, this was a bit of a punch to the gut.

To see a great franchise player like Delgado get tossed aside from reaching the HOF so quickly was tough to watch, considering what he did with how little he had around him.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Delgado, unfortunately, did not have great pieces surrounding him to try and create a winning team, with his club finishing below .500 7 out of the 12 years he played with the Blue Jays. While his team failed to finish better than 3rd in the A.L. East during those 12 years, he still put up great numbers on a consistent basis and kept displaying outrageous power year after year, giving hope and excitement to a fanbase that did not have a lot to cheer for during these tough times.

Playing in Toronto also did not help his HOF chances, considering the team saw a huge drop in attendance after the 1993 World Series run and the organization was going through ownership changes halfway through Delgado’s tenure with the club. He also created controversy by staying in the dugout for “God Bless America” as a way to protest the occupation of Iraq, which would garner extensive criticism from media and fans across the U.S.A.

There was also the controversy and media frenzy regarding the steroid era players and their Hall of Fame chances during the 2015 voting period, which did not help Delgado gain any more interest from the writers to stay on the ballot for another year.

This is a real shame, in that Delgado was a truly great player on a team that just didn’t have the supporting staff to really compete in a tough division. He was able to rise above each season and crank out extra-base hits and play in over 135 games in 9 of the 12 seasons for the Blue Jays.

To see one of the franchise’s best position players fall off the ballot so quickly just puts into perspective on how the current voting process does have its flaws.

Was Delgado a first-ballot Hall of Famer? No, most likely not.

But to see him be one and done because he was 1.8% below the threshold just hurts to witness. When you consider his career stats and the positive impact he had on the city of Toronto and his home country of Puerto Rico, one could argue Delgado is worthy of the Hall of Fame.

While things may look bleak for Carlos Delgado’s name to be in the HOF, he does have one last chance through the Veterans Committee. While this chance may be a last-ditch effort, it is, unfortunately, Delgado’s only chance to reach the golden gates of Cooperstown since he is no longer eligible through the current format.

While Carlos Delgado’s Hall of Fame aspirations may be on hold for now, it is no secret that the hard-hitting left-hander has a special place in the hearts of many Blue Jays fans and will always have a place on the Level of Excellence.