JUPITER, Fla. — You can see quickly why the Mariners wanted Carlos Delgado so badly, why they put him at the top of their winter wish list and let go, ever so reluctantly, only when it became clear that Delgado was going to take his own sweet time making up his mind.

Even in batting practice, on a distant practice field at the Florida Marlins' spring complex, you see the pure left-handed power stroke that the Mariners felt was made for Safeco Field. Though Delgado, it turns out, might not have been so convinced, saying yesterday, with a smile, "There's no such thing as a right-field porch at Safeco Field. It's not exactly a porch."

Moreover, Delgado has got the sort of charisma and likeability quotient that the Mariners felt would quickly make him a fan favorite in the manner of his retired countryman, Edgar Martinez.

He is articulate (in two languages), enthusiastic and a man of strong principles, exemplified by his decision to remain in the dugout during the playing of "God Bless America" — his protest against "making baseball a political tool." (Delgado plans to continue that stance in Miami, but has said he would discontinue if his team expressed an objection).

Yesterday, in the relaxed atmosphere of the Marlins' clubhouse, Delgado gave some insight into how he ended up a Marlin, and not a Mariner.

Seattle adjusted quite nicely, of course, signing Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre in rapid-fire succession. But general manager Bill Bavasi has publicly lamented the Mariners' inability to lure Delgado, whom they envisioned as the centerpiece of their rebuilding campaign.

"They showed interest, but they seemed to be moving a little faster than us," Delgado said. "We wanted to get a good idea where the market was going, and obviously they wanted to put a team together. I guess two and two didn't add to four there."

Indeed, in the end, it was a matter of timing, not money, because the Mariners made it clear to Delgado's camp that they would be competitive financially — not just an empty promise, as evidenced by the $100 million-plus they eventually dished out to Sexson and Beltre.

The Mariners jumped in early, expressing their strong interest to Delgado's agent, David Sloane, at the GM meetings in November. Later that month, they sent former Toronto GM Pat Gillick, now a Seattle consultant, to meet Delgado in Puerto Rico at his parents' home and lobby on the M's behalf.

"I've known Gillick a long time," Delgado said. "He signed me when I was 16 years old. He was very professional; he wasn't very pushy. Obviously, he came down to let me know the team was interested. I'm sure they sent him to get a read on what kind of reaction I was going to give."

"They were the first one to make an offer," Delgado said. "That offer they made at the time I didn't think was going to cut it. It was a chance that I needed to take — whether I signed first, or I waited to see how things developed."

Delgado chose the latter strategy. A large part of the motivation, it appears, was to see if the Yankees would join the bidding, a blessing to any free agent. The Yankees' decision, however, was delayed while the club tried to get out of Jason Giambi's contract.

In a long article in the Toronto Sun that chronicled the Delgado negotiations, reporter Bob Elliott details a negotiating session the Mariners had with Sloane during the winter meetings. The M's were ready to hammer out a deal on the spot. Bavasi is portrayed pointing to a blank easel with a pad of paper hanging on it.

"What kind of number will it take for us to put up there to get it done?" Bavasi asks.

Sloane wasn't prepared to answer, and ominously, the meeting was interrupted when Sexson's agent, Casey Close, showed up at the Mariners' suite.

Fearing that if they hung in the Delgado sweepstakes they might lose out on fallback options, the Mariners pulled out of the Delgado talks and instead, within the week, signed both Sexson and Beltre for a combined $114 million.

"We had some good talks that were very professional," Delgado said. "We had good conversations. It was just one of those things. It was only going to work out with one team. It was the Marlins."

Asked if he would have considered the Mariners had they hung in until the end — it was more than a month later, on Jan. 25, that Delgado finally signed his four-year, $52 million deal with the Marlins — Delgado fouled off the pitch.

"There's no way of saying," he said. "I'm not an 'if' guy. It just didn't work out."

But there are strong signs it could work out beautifully with the Marlins, who swooped in unexpectedly to beat out the Mets, Orioles and Rangers for Delgado.

Florida GM Larry Beinfest said he didn't receive authorization from ownership to pursue Delgado until after New Year's.

"I think he was a bit caught off guard, because we had not been involved, not even peeking in the door," Beinfest said. "We hadn't even done that. There was zero contact."

But once in the fray, Florida had strong selling points, including a contending team, a strong Latin community and proximity to Delgado's Puerto Rican home.

Now the Marlins believe they have — with Delgado, reacquired pitcher Al Leiter and a revamped bullpen — a team that might be better than the one that won the World Series two years ago.

"I believe you need to get it done on the field," Delgado said. "I'd like to be under the radar. You can kind of sneak up on people. But after 11 years, I just wanted to put myself in a position I had a chance to win."

The Mariners had hoped that position would be in Seattle, but in the end, Delgado's radar pointed south, not northwest.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com