Carlos Delgado show here with WBC Team Puerto Rico uniform (Photo LS File)

Carlos Delgado, the leading Puerto Rican Homerun hitter in the Major Leagues, will have to wait at least 4 months to be in condition to play baseball – at a time the 37 year old Star, who wears number 21 in honor of Roberto Clemente, is a free agent without a contract to begin the 2010 baseball season. He underwent surgery on his right hip for the second time in less than 9 months (his first one took place in May 2009) and as bodies get older and healing, or recovery time take longer, the prospects of Delgado’s career is pretermitted to the point of a possible final conclusion.

With 473 career homeruns in the Majors, he needs only 27 to reach the magical number of 500. Delgado has maintained that he could extend his playing days by two years – ample time to reach this personal goal and have the opportunity to be considered a baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) inductee 5 years after his retirement.

Should his career be cut short, no pun intended, because of this second round of surgery, his chances at the Hall of Fame, though maybe si o no a spit away – all intended – may be an uphill battle given Carlos Delgado’s once manifested anti- Iraq war stand and his past history of solidarity and support for ending the U.S. Navy’s military bombardment and occupation of the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques. Sports in our country is imbued with much patriotism and show of military force (witness jet fighters flying over stadiums) and earmarked at the large audiences that make up spectator-sports.

Besides, if Carlos Delgado were to miraculously return towards the tail end of the 2010 season, he will most likely perform as a Designated Hitter (DH) in an American League team. If he reaches 500 homers in this role,   the verdict is out that DHs are not looked upon favorably for HOF status despite Delgado’s 473 dingers as a full time player. Distracters will be heard saying his last 27 or more homeruns came off as a DH. A well known sports talk radio commentator and voice of one of New York baseball teams has already written-off Carlos Delgado for HOF considerations.

Last season as the New York Mets first baseman and in the final year of his contract, Delgado was limited to only 26 games due to the same right hip injury.  It is reported that the same surgeon who operated Alex Rodriguez’s hip injury, Dr. Marc Philippon, performed the operation. The surgery was done to repair the labrum in Delgado's hip. It is purported that Delgado also underwent microfracture surgery to repair his hip socket.

But unlike Alex, Carlos did not healed in time to finish 2009 and his attempt to play winter ball in Puerto Rico proved that his physical condition did not render him in top shape to sell his services to either the Mets or any other baseball team this upcoming season which is already in its Spring Training phase.

Delgado will turn 38 next June; besides 473 homers, he has 1,512 RBIs and a .280 Batting Average in 17 major league seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins and the NY Mets. He has won the 2000 AL Hank Aaron Award, the 2000 ML Major League Player of the year and the 2006 ML Roberto Clemente Award. In the 2006 post-season Delgado played a total of 10 games as a Met; 3 games in the National League Divisional Series (NLDS) against the L.A. Dodgers and 7 games in the NL championship series (NLCS) against the St. Luis Cardinals.  He had a combined .351 Batting Average with 4 homeruns and 11 RBI in 37 plate appearances.

Latino Sports wishes Carlos Delgado a speedy recovery.

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