Carlos Delgado Retires From Baseball

Major League veteran Carlos Delgado announced his retirement from baseball on Wednesday. With 473 home runs and 1,512 RBI to his name, Delgado is widely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in MLB history.

Delgado cited his physical condition as the main reason for his decision to retire.

"I always said I would try to return until my body had enough. And my body could take no more," said Delgado, 38, on Wednesday. "I've been training two years and recently tried yet again to increase the routine of work, but the swing was not there to compete at the level I want."

Delgado added, "There comes a moment when you have to have the dignity and the sense to recognize that something is not functioning. You can't swim against the current."

Delgado played for a total of 17 seasons in the Major Leagues, spending most of his career playing for the Toronto Blue Jays but also playing for the Florida Marlins and the New York Mets.

During his career, Delgado hit 30+ home runs in a season 11 times and 40+ home runs in a season 3 times. He ended his career with an impressive .280 batting average, 2 All-Star selections, 3 Silver Slugger Awards, and a slew of Blue Jays franchise records.

Unfortunately, Delgado's final seasons in the MLB were hampered by hip injuries, which were just too much for the veteran hitter to endure.

"And this coming from a man who had nine operations," said Delgado. "It is a sad moment as a human being and athlete that some of your abilities aren't what they once were."

But Delgado understands that that is part of being an athlete.

"The time I played I enjoyed it big," Delgado said. "No excuses, no complaints. When I signed to play professional baseball I knew my body would suffer."

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Vernon Wells had nothing but kind words for Delgado upon hearing of his retirement.

"I think it's unfortunate, just because he's so close to 500 home runs. I would have liked to see him get to that number. It's one of the harder ones to get to. To be part of the 500 club would have been special to him," said Wells on Wednesday.

"If not for the amount of time he played and the strain that you put on your body, he'd have been way past it. But I think he's proven everything he needed to prove, as far as being one of the best power hitters of his generation. He had some of the most impressive pop that you'll see in a ballplayer -- to all fields. And when he hit the ball, it wasn't coming down."

(Sources: ESPN.com)

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