Delgado takes a stand by sitting

It is an extraordinarily rare MLB player to stick his neck out and make a political statement. Quietly, Carlos Delgado has been doing that all year.

BEGINNING tonight, the Yankees will see a lot of the Toronto Blue Jays. The two teams will play 19 times in the final three months of the season. The Yankees will also see a lot of the Blue Jays slugger Carlos Delgado; they just won't see him in the middle of the seventh inning.

Though Delgado is having an off year, he remains one of the most respected players in Major League Baseball. Last March when the United States invaded Iraq, Delgado, in his own quiet way, said that for him, enough was enough. He had stood for "God Bless America" through the 2003 season but vowed not to do so this season. In an act of a simple, mostly unnoticed, protest against the war, Delgado, a 32-year-old first baseman, has chosen to remain in the dugout while "God Bless America" is played.

Delgado also actively protested the U.S. Navy's use of the Peurto Rican island of Vieques as target practice, and continues to demand that the government help with the cleanup of the place.

Interesting guy. As Bill Rhodes asks, wonder what the reaction in hyper-patriotic-ritual Yankee Stadium will be?

But be sure to check out the typical bull#$%@ from Bud the used car salesman in reaction to learning of Delgado's protest. If there's anyone with less concern for player's rights, I haven't heard of him.

UPDATE -- 7/22/04 -- A smattering of boos for Delgado when he came to the plate in the 8th on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. Pretty mild given that there were over 50,000 in the stands for both games.