Carlos Delgado Headed to Boston

A couple of weeks ago, I took at a look at the potential Hall of Fame class of 2015.

Now comes word that Carlos Delgado, a player that I categorized as "on the bubble", has inked a deal to play for the Boston Red Sox.

According to the Boston Herald, Delgado worked out for the Sox batting cages Friday before their game at Yankee Stadium. The former Blue Jays great had been working out at a facility in Long Island and had previously been linked to a handful of teams including the Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.

But ultimately Boston makes the most sense for Delgado, who hasn't suited up in more than a year. And with All-Star Kevin Youkilis on the shelf for the rest of the season and oft-injured Mike Lowell filling in at first, Delgado's left-handed stroke and 473 home runs would add a little needed pop to the BoSox lineup.

Delgado is scheduled to report to Triple-A Pawtucket tomorrow, and according to his agent, David Sloane, he'll only need 10 days to two weeks to be ready after not playing since last May.

According to ESPN.com, the terms of Delgado's deal calls for him to be paid a prorated salary of $20,000 and includes a an opt-out date of September 1.

If the first baseman is promoted to the bigs, he'd be paid on a prorated salary of $3 million...or roughly $545,000 a month. There are performance clauses that would pay Delgado an additional $75,000 for being ALCS MVP and $100,000 for being named World Series MVP.

But what about those Hall chances?

If you look at Delgado's overall numbers, he stacks up rather favorably to some players already in the Hall of Fame. Among those players (according to Baseball-Reference) are legends Willie Stargell, Willie McCovey and Duke Snider.

Of the more recent players on the list, Delgado matches up well with Jeff Bagwell, Fred McGriff and Andres Galarraga. The problem? None of the three of them are considered shoe-ins...and neither should Delgado.

Delgado's career totals...a .280 batting average, 473 home runs and 1512 RBI are impressive. Unfortunately, the climate of today's baseball frontier is such that if you didn't produce those numbers over the span of a 17-year career...it is deemed a failure of sorts.

No hardware to speak of, only two All-Star appearances and a mere 2038 hits...yeah, Delgado is going to need a little more to get my support.

Friday 5: Delino DeShields Jr.

Every year the MLB draft seems to be littered with familiar names. Full of sons, brothers, nephews...the 2010 draft was no different.

Two months ago, the Houston Astros drafted Delino DeShields Jr. with their eighth overall pick. His father, selected with the 12th overall pick in 1987, played 13 seasons for five different teams.

Junior looks to start soon with his first.

"It's a done deal everybody I'm officially an Astro wish me luck" was the message DeShields sent out to his friends on facebook Thursday.

Today...he's taking part in the "Friday 5".

HOVG: How does it feel knowing you just inked a deal to play pro ball?

DeSHIELDS: It's a good feeling and definitely a relief. I'm just really happy that it's over with. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm glad that God gave me the abilities to make it to this point

HOVG: Aside from your Dad...who was your biggest influence and why?

DeSHIELDS: I never really had an influence. I mean, I always wanted to be like my dad but other than that...no one else really influenced me

HOVG: Do you think the pressures to succeed are greater being the son of a former Major Leaguer?

DeSHIELDS: I think the pressures to succeed are definitely going to be hard because people are going to judge me, but that's a part of the game and I'm not going to let anyone bring me down. I'm just going to go out every day, play my hardest and prove all of my doubters that I deserve to be in this organization

HOVG: What are you looking forward to the most in the pros?

DeSHIELDS: I'm looking for all of the free stuff honestly. (Laughs) I really won't have to pay for my equipment anymore which is a relief.

HOVG: Let's look into the future...what'll be your walk up music?

DeSHIELDS: My walk up music? Well if I were to pick one now it would be "Ball All Day" by Roscoe Dash.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Astros gave DeShields $2.15 million signing bonus. He will report to the Astros' team in the Gulf Coast League on Friday. The 17 year-old (he'll turn 18 on August 16) is scheduled to stay there for a week before joining rookie level Greenville of the Appalachian League.

Derek Jeter Had a Good Game Too!

Perhaps overshadowed by the fact that his teammate Alex Rodriguez finally got that monkey off his back and slugged home run number 600 is the history that Yankees captain Derek Jeter made on Wednesday.

Not only was it the 50th time that A-Rod knocked in Jeter with a homer...but the shortstop was also on base three years ago (to the day) when number 500 was hit.

But enough about Rodriguez and his milestone. For now.

With four hits, Jeter surpassed Yankees great Joe DiMaggio with his 35th 4-for-4 game. For his career, the Yankees hit king is sitting at 2872...one behind Babe Ruth on all-time leaderboard.

Not only did the Yankees captain get four hits, but two of them were doubles. Jeter entered the game tied with Hall of Famers Sam Crawford and Jimmie Foxx with 458. He ended the contest with 460 and tied with another Hall of Famer...Dan Brouthers

By scoring three runs, Jeter put his career total at 1652. When he rounded the bases in the first inning after Rodriguez sent number 600 deep, Jeter passed up Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (1650 runs scored) on the all-time list.

So yeah, Alex Rodriguez had a pretty good afternoon (check out ten things you might not have known about his milestone HERE), but let's not forget his teammate Derek Jeter and his own pursuit of excellence.

Behind-the-scenes of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Weekend

Sitting atop the National League Central on August 5…you might think that this is the best the Cincinnati Reds have fared going into the last two months of the season since their 1990 World Series championship.

You'd be wrong.

This year’s incredible turnaround (a .560 winning percentage) is actually good for their fifth best record at this point in the season since they swept the A’s nearly 20 years ago.

Glenn Braggs was a member of that wire-to-wire championship team and was on hand a couple of weeks ago when he and his teammates were honored at the annual Reds Hall of Fame Induction.

I recently caught up with the slugger, and here is his exclusive account of what went down that weekend.

The weekend was a combination 1990 Championship Team Reunion as well as Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. I arrived Friday morning on a red eye from Los Angeles and met up with the guys from that World Series team at Great American Ball Park later that evening.

About 13 of the guys showed and it was great to hookup again and rehash memories. Our team had a lot of camaraderie and hasn't missed a beat. Reds Hall of Famers Barry Larkin, Eric Davis and Tom Browning were there as well as 2010 Inductee Chris Sabo.

The Reds beat the Rockies that night and following the game, we were honored on field with a tribute and a pre-Hall of Fame ceremony for this year’s inductees Pedro Borbon, Chris Sabo and Tony Mulane. Afterward, M.C. Hammer performed and we all loved it considering his song "U Can't Touch This" was our clubhouse theme song in 1990.

On Saturday, there was a meet-and-greet at the Reds Hall of Fame with the fans and later, we attended another game at the ballpark to see the Reds win again. I also met up with legendary club house manager Bernie Stowe and he was still as feisty as ever.

Johnny Bench and ESPN Announcer Joe Morgan were there and it was as though we were all family. Many of the former Reds from the “Big Red Machine” were on hand as well as many Reds greats such as Tommy Helms and Jim O'Toole.

Not many people know this, but I wore number 15 because George Foster was one of my favorite players and we always have great chats when I see him. I always enjoy re-connecting with all of these guys because baseball is a fraternity and it doesn't really matter what era you played in.

Sunday saw another game in which the Reds fought hard but this time lost a close one. Afterward, the Hall of Fame Gala began with tributes to the 1990 Championship Team, Pete Rose becoming the all-time hits leader, and, of course, the inductions of three new Reds Hall of Famers.

A big thanks to Glenn Braggs for serving as The Hall of Very Good’s eyes and ears at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame weekend. To check out more photos from the weekend…click HERE!

Ten Things About Alex Rodriguez and His 600 Home Runs

Weight lifted...monkey gone.

Alex Rodriguez has joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr. as the one of the only players to slug for 600 or more home runs for their career...and he did it exactly three years to the day after he slugged number 500.

For Rodriguez, it took 2267 games…the second quickest behind Ruth (2044 games) to do so. That said, when he took Shawn Marcum deep in the first inning of today's game, A-Rod became the youngest to accomplish the feat at just 35 years, 8 days old…nearly two full years younger than Ruth when he did the deed.

Here are ten things that I bet you might not have known about the 600 home runs that Rodriguez has hit.

365
Since he hit his first home run June 12, 1995 off Tom Gordon, Rodriguez has gone on to victimized 364 other pitchers. Atop the hit list at eight are three pitchers…Ramon Ortiz, David Wells and Bartolo Colon. All-time home run king Jamie Moyer has given up six longballs to the Yankees third baseman. And of the 365 pitchers Rodriguez has taken deep…some of them were siblings. The brothers Hernandez (Livan and Orlando) and Weaver (Jeff and Jered) are responsible for a combined 12 home runs.

255
I don’t have to tell anyone, but the New York Yankees are not only A-Rod’s third team, but it is the team that he’s been the most productive for. Since he first landed in the Big Apple in 2004…he’s hit 255 home runs. For his first team, the Seattle Mariners, he hit 189 homers and in just three seasons with the Texas Rangers…he hit a mind boggling 156 home runs. Wow.

122

"Pudge" Rodriguez Goes Deep...Makes History

Last May, Ivan Rodriguez hit his 300th career home run as a member of the Houston Astros.

Now, fourteen months and a pair of teams later, "Pudge" has become just the fifth catcher to surpass 300 home runs behind the dish. The other catchers with more than 300 dingers...Mike Piazza (396), Carlton Fisk (351), Johnny Bench (327) and Yogi Berra (305).

The second inning shot off Arizona's Rodrigo Lopez was just the future Hall of Famer's second homer of the season and the 307th of his career. He is baseball's career leader in games, runs, hits, doubles and extra-base hits by a catcher and after the game, said he doesn't see himself retiring any time soon.

"I think there is a lot of baseball in me," the 38-year-old told reporters following the game. "I know I can play two or three years more. I'll play this year and two more, and we'll see what God's plans for me are."

Rodriguez is batting .268 with just 2 home runs and 30 RBI in limited action for the Washington Nationals this season.