Ron Darling, American baseball player and sportscaster
Ronald Maurice Darling Jr. (born August 19, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from 1983 to 1995, most notably 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 currently works as a color commentator for national baseball coverage on TBS, as well as for the Mets on both SNY and WPIX; he also co-hosts several MLB Network programs.
1960Aug, 19
Ron Darling
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Events on 1960
- 17Mar
Bay of Pigs Invasion
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion. - 21Apr
Rio de Janeiro
Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro. - 9May
Combined oral contraceptive pill
The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill. - 4Jul
Flag of the United States
Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act). - 29Oct
Muhammad Ali
In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.