February 06, 2006 @ 1:57 pm

Carlos Delgado - The Silent Protester

by: Alex Labidou

Many sports enthusiasts have hailed Carlos Delgado, one of the Major League Baseball’s premier athletes, to be a throwback to sports players such as Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, and Roberto Clemente - Delgado’s personal hero. In an era where the pursuit of contract extensions and marketing sponsorships seem more important to some athletes, Delgado appears to be a rarity because, in spite of it all, he continues to voice his sometimes not-so-politically-correct beliefs. Despite being one of baseball’s greatest first basemen, Delgado feels he has a larger responsibility, which is to be the vessel of voice for those who are generally ignored. Whether it is the military testing in the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, or the war against Iraq and Afghanistan, Delgado is relentless in his defense of the tyrannized. “I am a baseball player, but before I am a baseball player, I am a human being,” says Delgado. However, after highly criticizing the American government, expressing his anti-war views and sitting out during "God Bless America", the very liberal Delgado joined the Mets organization - after turning them down the first time around for the Marlins - which is run by ultraconservative owner Fred Wilpon. Even more concerning, during a press conference to announce his trade from the Florida Marlins, Delgado said, “The Mets have a policy that everybody should stand for 'God Bless America' and I will be there. I will not cause any distractions to the ball club; just call me Employee Number 21." The mismatched trade sent shockwaves and Delgado’s comments made headlines, and, further more, the fear that Delgado would be “silenced” became a major fear for his followers. Many began to question Delgado’s integrity and a lot of his supporters began to feel his agreement with the trade signaled Delgado had simply sold to the highest bidder. In an exclusive interview with VIBE.com, Delgado talks about what has driven him in his career to date, his feelings on being a social activist, and finally, he clears the air about why he didn’t sign with the Mets last off-season, and whether or not he will continue to fight for justice. VIBE.com: Talk about some of your political influences and your thoughts nowadays on the military testing that took place in Vieques? right Carlos Delgado: I have nothing to do with that. I don’t like politics ironically enough. Go figure (laughs). My first statement about Vieques was “this has nothing to do with politics.” This is all about society. This is about real people living in a practice field, being target practice for the military. It had the highest cancer population, the highest unemployment percentage. It wasn’t about politics; it was about real people getting sick, real people not having opportunities to have a great education, real people not having the ability to get a job. So you would say that you’re an advocate of the people then? C.D.: 100 percent. I will consider myself a fair guy, an honest guy. I like justice. I don’t believe that just because you are stronger than someone that that gives you the right to bully someone. Last year, many considered you the weapon that would bring another title to the Florida Marlins organization, still, the Marlins fell short of expectations. Can you talk about what went wrong with the Marlins last year? C.D.: You know you said it yourself, we had a great team on paper and we just didn’t play well. I don’t like to use excuses. At one point we did have some injury issues but you know what every team goes through injury issues and you need to learn how to overcome that to try to win. We just underachieved. We had guys that didn’t play up to the expectations. If you don’t play good, you’re not going to win. The game is played on the field, you don’t win games on paper. Last year the Mets strongly pursued you. You said that part of the reason you didn't consider their offer was due to the fact that they tried to cater to your Spanish heritage. C.D.: That is not accurate. Someone had asked me the question if they approached me in Spanish and I said yeah. What was I supposed to do, lie to them? Obviously I didn’t go there and someone had to find an excuse why and I understand that from a media standpoint. But it had nothing to do with that. There is only one reason why I didn’t sign with the Mets. The reason why I signed with the Marlins over the Mets is because of the fact that I thought the Marlins gave me a better chance to win then the Mets. Had nothing to do with money, had nothing to do with English or Spanish cultures. That is inaccurate and I never said that. What drives you to speak your mind and the importance of being socially conscious? C.D.: The way I look at it, if I wasn’t a baseball player and I said the things that I said or do the things that I do, no one would care. I am a baseball player but before that I am a baseball player I am a human being. As I mentioned before, I like justice and I like to be fair. I don’t like to take advantage of people and I don’t like to be taken advantage of. So because I make a comment on a certain issue and I am a baseball player with a spotlight, your words carry a little more. I say things because its how I feel. I don’t say things because I am a baseball player and I want to create controversy. I say things because I believe it, it’s a well thoughtful decision and then you have to live with the consequences. People really listen to what you have to say. So, in signing with the Mets, will the silent protests end? C.D.: Let me make one point clear: I haven’t changed my mind. It’s not like I don’t think the same way. I still feel the same way about the war [against Iraq]; I am against the war. But there are a couple of things that you have to consider. I am a baseball player and I want to have a chance to win. I am going to a team that has certain rules, but those rules aren’t going to change the way that I think. I have to be smart with what I do. Drawing attention will distract from what I am trying to do which is win. Obviously people are going to criticize you one way or the other, but like I said you have to make a decision. That doesn’t mean that I now agree with playing “God Bless America” especially in conjunction to war celebrations, I’m still think one thing doesn’t have to do with another and I still feel the same way. Obviously I kind want to be careful about drawing attention to myself. I am not going to put myself in front of the team. That doesn’t change the way that I think. At the end of your career, what would you like Carlos Delgado to be remembered as? C.D.: I would say that I have been consistent. I don’t get caught up with the numbers because the numbers most of the times don’t mean anything. I have been able to, knock on wood, to be healthy enough to play a lot of games and my numbers have been consistent. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I approach every season with the same goals that I want to hit 30 plus homers and bring in over a 100 runs. 369 Homers to date! C.D.: Yeah but what I am saying is that I want to be able to contribute. I want people to rely on me, to know that when the game is on the line that this guy can drive in a run. I take a lot of pride in being a run producer and being in there when they say “when the leaves turn brown,” they’ll say this guy produced these kinds of numbers which are 30 homers and a 100 runs or more per season.

Editor's Note: Carlos Delgado wouldn't stand for "God Bless America," not the National Anthem. Read more vibe.com online exclusives.

Article tags: Carlos Delgado, NY Mets, Florida Marlins, Major League Baseball 

del.icio.us digg Furl Reddit YahooMyWeb

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2006/02/carlos_delgado_the_silent_protester/

Return to previous page