Carlos Delgado didn’t have an answer for his critics on a Friday afternoon in the Bronx. He had three.
The veteran first baseman, who just celebrated his 36th birthday, came out of a deep slump in historic fashion—setting the Mets’ single-game record for RBIs in a 15-9 rout of the Yankees.
It was the first of a cross-town, two-stadium doubleheader, but Delgado helped make Yankee Stadium feel like Shea.
Entering the game, he had only two hits in his last 22 at-bats and his batting average for the year was at .229. His slugging percentage was a mere .396 for a player who eclipsed .500 nine times in the past decade and a 141 OPS+ during that same span.
He came up empty in his initial two trips to the plate against Yanks starter Dan Giese only to break out in the fifth. This time facing Edwar Ramirez with the score tied at four, Delgado came up with Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran on base—both of whom came around after a double into the right-field corner. It was his first run driven in since June 20.
His next opportunity came in the next inning with the bases loaded. One swing turned a relatively close game into a blowout—a no-doubt grand slam to right-center. His 443rd career homer put him ahead of Dave Kingman on the all-time list, the same man who held the one-game franchise mark for RBIs…at least for the next hour.
Delgado didn’t ease up when it was 12–5 in the eighth. Instead, he sought to add to his already impressive RBI total. Locking in on a LaTroy Hawkins pitch, he rocketed it into right-field stands that were now half-empty, and plenty of those there were in orange and blue.
“You come in here, you understand how big the Yankees and the Mets series are,” Delgado said post-game to the New York Times. “You want to contribute. You want to come in, especially with guys in scoring position, you want to come up with a big hit,”
Delgado eclipsed Kingman’s eight-RBI performance at Dodger Stadium in 1976 for what remains one of the greatest single-game hitting efforts in team history, if not the best.
All the noise the Mets generated in the Bronx was in deep contrast to how it went back home in Queens for the nightcap. Sidney Ponson shut them out for six innings and the Yanks offense generated a bushel of runs against Pedro Martinez in a 9-0 blowout. But it’s Delgado’s day is that forever takes precedent.
