Remember Delgado's epic 4-homer day

May 1st, 2020

TORONTO -- Blue Jays fans might recall one of the greatest single-game performances in club history, which streamed live on MLB's social platforms on Thursday.

Carlos Delgado went a perfect 4-for-4 against the Devil Rays on the night of Sept. 25, 2003. The first home run of the night was the 300th of Delgado’s career, and he wasted no time getting to work on chasing No. 400.

Delgado got things started in the bottom of the first with his first of two home runs off of starter Jorge Sosa. It was a classic Delgado blast, too, as he took a low pitch from Sosa and launched it deep to right-center field, where it smacked off the windows of the restaurant at SkyDome.

Delgado's second home run didn’t have the same elegant finish or soaring trajectory, but they count just the same. This one scraped over the wall in right field, his 39th of the 2003 season.

Delgado launched No. 40 on the season, and No. 3 on the night, in the bottom of the sixth inning before stepping up to the plate with history on the line in the bottom of the eighth. Even with his three home runs, the Blue Jays were still down 8-7.

The fourth blast of the night was Delgado’s finest, a skyscraper to center field that once again bounced off the windows of SkyDome’s restaurant and sent the crowd of 13,408 into a frenzy. Delgado became the first player in Blue Jays history to accomplish the feat.

"Carlos might be the best hitter in the game," said Buck Martinez, Delgado’s manager at the time. "He is as smart a hitter as I've ever been around."

José Bautista’s bat flip gets all of the attention in Toronto, but Delgado’s casual overhand toss after launching his fourth homer was an incredible moment of its own.

Delgado finished that 2003 season hitting .302 with a 1.019 OPS, including 42 home runs and a career-high 145 RBIs. Delgado finished runner-up to Alex Rodriguez in American League MVP Award voting that year, but he remains one of the most underrated sluggers of his generation.