Blue Jays all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

First base: Carlos Delgado, 34.7 fWAR

While familiar names like John Olerud and Edwin Encarnación might spring to mind when you think about the top Blue Jays' first basemen, Carlos Delgado easily eclipses all other contenders with a 34.7 fWAR during his 12 years in Toronto.

After making his major league debut in 1993, he played parts of the 1994 and 1995 seasons before bursting onto the scene in 1996 with 25 home runs in 138 games.

One of the most feared sluggers of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Delgado helped carry the Blue Jays' offense with his awe-inspiring home runs.

Delgado played 1,423 games in Toronto and remains the club leader with 336 home runs, 889 runs scored and 1,058 RBI. He finished his Toronto tenure with a beefy .282/.392/.556 slash line and his .556 slugging percentage ranks as the best among all qualified Jays hitters, not just first basemen.

The two-time All-Star paces all Toronto first basemen in hits (1,413), doubles (343), singles (723) and OPS (.949). He also leads the franchise in walks with 827, of which 128 were intentional.

With a smile as big as his bat, Delgado mashed his way into the hearts of Blue Jays fans and the franchise record books on his way to earning three Silver Slugger awards and MVP votes in four of his 12 seasons in Toronto.

In 2000, he batted a ridiculous .344, with a 1.134 OPS, 41 home runs and 137 RBI, finishing fourth in MVP voting. In 2003, he was the MVP runner-up after batting .302 with 38 homers, an AL-best 1.019 OPS and a major league-best 145 RBI.

The Blue Jays let Delgado go in free agency after the 2004 season. He played five more years for the Marlins and Mets before retiring in 2009 after hip surgery. He returned to Toronto in 2013 to see his name inducted into the team's Level of Excellence.

Next: The best all-time second baseman was an All-Star in every season as a Blue Jay