Ron Darling

Born: 8/19/1960 in Honolulu, HI, USA

MLB Debut: 1983-09-06 | Final Game: 1995-08-15

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 195 lbs

Full name: Ronald Maurice Darling

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Biography

Ron Darling was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1983 to 1995. Born in 1960, he played the majority of his career with the New York Mets, where he became a key figure in the team's pitching rotation during the late 1980s. Darling showcased his talent on the mound with a career record of 136-116 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.87, striking out 1,590 batters throughout his time in the majors. His performance earned him an All-Star selection, highlighting his status as one of the league's top pitchers during his era. Darling was known for his poise and intelligence on the mound, often employing a mix of fastballs and breaking pitches to keep hitters off balance. He contributed significantly to the Mets' successful run in the 1980s, including their 1986 World Series championship. After his playing career, Darling transitioned into broadcasting, where he became a well-respected analyst, further solidifying his legacy in the sport. His insights and experiences continue to influence new generations of baseball fans and players alike.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
136	116	382	364	37	13	0	2360.3	2244	1016	239	906	1590	3.87	0

Career ERA 3.87 vs. league average 3.99 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1983	NYN	NL	1	3	5	5	1	0	35.3	31	11	17	23	2.80	3.87 (+28%)	641.6
1984	NYN	NL	12	9	33	33	2	2	205.7	179	87	104	136	3.81	3.81 (avg)	-1603.4
1985	NYN	NL	16	6	36	35	4	2	248.0	214	80	114	167	2.90	3.89 (+25%)	259.3
1986	NYN	NL	15	6	34	34	4	2	237.0	203	74	81	184	2.81	3.97 (+29%)	3349.5
1987	NYN	NL	12	8	32	32	2	0	207.7	183	99	96	167	4.29	4.29 (avg)	531.8
1988	NYN	NL	17	9	34	34	7	4	240.7	218	87	60	161	3.25	3.73 (+13%)	1237.3
1989	NYN	NL	14	14	33	33	4	0	217.3	214	85	70	153	3.52	3.71 (+5%)	1199.3
1990	NYN	NL	7	9	33	18	1	0	126.0	135	63	44	99	4.50	3.86 (-17%)	-1957.6
1991	NYN	NL	5	6	17	17	0	0	102.3	96	44	28	58	3.87	3.91 (+1%)	128.0
1991	WSN	NL	0	2	3	3	0	0	17.0	25	14	5	11	7.41	3.91 (-89%)	-
1991	OAK	AL	3	7	12	12	0	0	75.0	64	34	38	60	4.08	3.91 (-4%)	-300.5
1992	OAK	AL	15	10	33	33	4	3	206.3	198	84	72	99	3.66	3.75 (+2%)	-689.1
1993	OAK	AL	5	9	31	29	3	0	178.0	198	102	72	95	5.16	4.19 (-23%)	-2928.4
1994	OAK	AL	10	11	25	25	4	0	160.0	162	80	59	108	4.50	4.51 (avg)	126.5
1995	OAK	AL	4	7	21	21	1	0	104.0	124	72	46	69	6.23	4.45 (-40%)	-2038.4

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
402	526	39	76	21	2	2	21	1	15	175	0.144	0.169	0.203	0.373	-3528.3

Career AVG .144 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 44.4% below league average.

Career OBP .169 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 48.1% below league average.

Career SLG .203 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 48.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.373 vs. league average 0.720 across their career seasons — 48.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1983	NYN	NL	5	10	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.100	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	NYN	NL	39	67	7	10	1	0	0	3	0	1	19	0.149	.259 (-43%)	.322 (-51%)	.384 (-57%)	.707 (-54%)	-620.1
1985	NYN	NL	42	76	9	13	4	0	0	0	1	4	25	0.171	.257 (-33%)	.323 (-34%)	.390 (-43%)	.714 (-39%)	-507.0
1986	NYN	NL	34	81	4	8	2	0	0	0	0	3	29	0.099	.257 (-62%)	.325 (-60%)	.395 (-69%)	.720 (-65%)	-888.6
1987	NYN	NL	32	65	5	8	5	0	0	4	0	2	22	0.123	.262 (-53%)	.331 (-55%)	.415 (-52%)	.746 (-53%)	-615.2
1988	NYN	NL	34	82	4	18	4	2	0	4	0	1	21	0.220	.254 (-14%)	.317 (-28%)	.377 (-16%)	.695 (-22%)	-320.6
1989	NYN	NL	35	73	8	9	1	0	2	5	0	1	28	0.123	.254 (-51%)	.319 (-54%)	.375 (-42%)	.694 (-47%)	-576.7
1990	NYN	NL	34	31	2	4	0	0	0	2	0	3	12	0.129	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	NYN	NL	17	34	0	4	3	0	0	1	0	0	14	0.118	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	WSN	NL	3	6	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	2	0.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	OAK	AL	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	OAK	AL	34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	OAK	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	OAK	AL	27	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	OAK	AL	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
8	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1992	ALCS	OAK	1	0	0	.000
1988	NLCS	NYN	3	3	2	0.000
1986	NLCS	NYN	1	1	0	0.000
1986	WS	NYN	3	3	1	0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	3	7	7	0	35.7	34	15	18	27	3.79

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1992	ALCS	OAK	0	1	1	1	6.0	4	2	2	3	3.00
1988	NLCS	NYN	0	1	2	2	7.0	11	6	4	7	7.71
1986	NLCS	NYN	0	0	1	1	5.0	6	4	2	5	7.20
1986	WS	NYN	1	1	3	3	17.7	13	3	10	12	1.53

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	382	364	177	391	37	37

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1983	NYN	P	5	5	2	6	0	1
1984	NYN	P	33	33	17	38	3	3
1985	NYN	P	36	35	24	47	2	5
1986	NYN	P	34	34	24	47	7	7
1987	NYN	P	32	32	17	43	3	5
1988	NYN	P	34	34	17	35	3	4
1989	NYN	P	33	33	15	37	4	5
1990	NYN	P	33	18	7	22	2	0
1991	NYN	P	17	17	7	17	5	0
1991	MON	P	3	3	3	1	1	1
1991	OAK	P	12	12	8	9	0	1
1992	OAK	P	33	33	11	26	4	2
1993	OAK	P	31	29	12	17	1	0
1994	OAK	P	25	25	3	26	2	1
1995	OAK	P	21	21	10	20	0	2

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
Pitcher	382
Designated Hitter	1

Awards & Honors

Year	Award	Notes
1989	Gold Glove	P
1984	Pitcher of the Month	June

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
1995	OAK	AL	$3,000,000
1994	OAK	AL	$2,250,000
1993	OAK	AL	$2,250,000
1992	OAK	AL	$2,200,000
1991	NYN	NL	$1,966,667
1990	NYN	NL	$1,566,667
1989	NYN	NL	$1,966,666
1988	NYN	NL	$1,000,000
1987	NYN	NL	$1,050,000
1986	NYN	NL	$440,000
1985	NYN	NL	$230,000
Total Career Earnings			$17,920,000