Ron Darling

Ronald Maurice Darling Jr. (born August 19, 1960) is an American retired professional baseball pitcher and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from 1983 to 1995, including as a member of the New York Mets team that won the 1986 World Series. Since 2006, he has been the co-lead color commentator for Mets broadcasts on SNY alongside former teammate Keith Hernandez.

Darling was a 1985 National League All-Star and won the 1989 Gold Glove Award for National League pitchers. He ranks fourth in Mets team history in wins (99) and is also in the top 10 in complete games, innings, strikeouts and shutouts. During the 1986 World Series, Darling allowed just three earned runs in 17+2⁄3 innings and won Game 4 in Boston to even the series. In 2020, Darling was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame.

Darling had five pitches in his repertoire: the slider, a curveball, a circle changeup, a splitter, and a four seam fastball. In the beginning of his career, Darling's weak point was control, and he finished three seasons in the top four in base on balls; as his career progressed, his control improved considerably. He was considered one of the better fielding pitchers of the time and had one of the best pickoff moves among right-handed pitchers. An above-average athlete, he was sometimes used as a pinch runner and, in 1989, he hit home runs in two consecutive starts. Apart from his career with the Mets, Darling also played for the Montreal Expos and the Oakland Athletics.

Darling is a color commentator for nationwide baseball coverage on TBS, as well as for the Mets on both SNY and WPIX; he also co-hosts several MLB Network programs. In September 2022, he pre-recorded announcements for MTA NYCT's 7 line, along with Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen.

Darling was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a Hawaiian-Chinese mother and French Canadian father.^{[citation needed]} After growing up in Millbury, Massachusetts, he attended St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

Darling was recruited to play college football as a quarterback at Yale University for the Yale Bulldogs football team. He was also recruited by Andy Baylock to play football for the University of Connecticut. Darling transitioned to defensive back after finding that Yale had a glut of talent at the quarterback position. He quit the team after his freshman season and focused instead on baseball. He initially played shortstop for the Yale Bulldogs baseball team. Later in his collegiate career, he agreed to pitch only on the condition he be allowed to play shortstop and outfield on his days off.

In 1980, Darling played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). He batted .336 with six home runs while posting a 4–3 mark on the mound. At the league's all-star game at Yankee Stadium, he singled, doubled and homered as the CCBL left fielder, then came on in the final inning to pitch in relief, preserving the CCBL's one-run victory over the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Darling was named the league's MVP and outstanding pro prospect, and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2002.

On May 21, 1981, Darling faced future Mets teammate Frank Viola, then playing for St. John's University, in an NCAA post-season game, and he had a no-hitter through 11 innings. In the 12th inning, St. John's broke up the no-hitter and then scored on a double-steal to beat Yale 1–0. Darling's performance remains the longest no-hitter in NCAA history, and the game is considered by some to be the best in college baseball history and was the subject of a New Yorker story by the late Roger Angell, who attended the game.