Ron Darling
From The Met Wiki
Ron Darling was a pitcher for the Mets from 1983 to 1991. He recorded 99 wins and 1148 strikeouts as a member of the team. Darling had a 3.50 earned run average during his Mets career.
Darling came to the Mets’ organization from the Texas Rangers with Walt Terrell in a trade for Lee Mazzilli on April 1, 1982. In ’83, he began his major league career with six strikeouts in six and one-third innings against the Phillies at Shea Stadium on September 6. At Pittsburgh on September 28, Ron got his first major league win with a complete game for a 4-2 Mets victory over the Pirates.
In 1984, Darling had a 12-9 won-lost record. He pitched 205 innings over 33 games in his first full major league season. At Cincinnati on April 4, Ron pitched two-hit ball for six innings and got the win as the Mets recorded their first victory of the season, 2-0, at Cincinnati. He pitched his first career shutout with a four-hitter for a 6-0 Mets win at St. Louis on June 14. Ron threw a four-hit shutout against the Reds for a 1-0 Mets win in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 6. He also struck out 12 batters in a game won by the Mets over the Dodgers, 3-2, on August 29 at Shea.
Darling had a 2.90 ERA in 1985. He had a 16-6 won-lost record in 35 games started during the year. On April 16, Ron combined with Jesse Orosco for a one-hitter as the Mets defeated the Pirates, 2-1, at Pittsburgh. At Shea on April 26, he pitched a five-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and scored two runs to lead the Mets to a 6-0 win over the Pirates. Darling shut out the Cubs on five hits for a 2-0 Mets victory on June 17 at Shea. He had a complete game win at San Francisco on August 30 as the Mets defeated the Giants, 2-1. Ron also pitched nine innings of four-hit shutout ball in a game won by the Mets, 1-0, at St. Louis on October 1.
In 1986, Darling recorded 15 wins and 184 strikeouts. He had a team-leading 34 starts and a 2.81 ERA in the Mets’ World Championship season. At Shea on May 27, Ron pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts for an 8-1 Mets victory over the Dodgers and his sixth consecutive winning decision to start the year. He shut out the Braves for a 2-0 win on July 13 at Shea. In the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 29, Darling struck out the side in order in the ninth inning to complete a 3-0 Mets win over the Cubs. He also combined with Sid Fernandez on a four-hit shutout and a 9-0 Mets victory over the Pirates in the season finale at Shea on October 5.
In Game 1 of the ’86 World Series, Darling had eight strikeouts in seven innings in a hard-luck 1-0 Mets defeat to the Red Sox at Shea on October 18. He pitched seven shutout innings and got the win in the Mets’ 6-2 triumph at Boston in Game 4 of the Series on October 22.
Darling led the Mets with 207 and two-thirds innings pitched in 1987. He also topped all Mets pitchers with 32 games started and 167 strikeouts for the year. At Pittsburgh on April 22, Ron had a run-scoring double and recorded a win in the Mets’ 8-7 victory over the Pirates. He pitched a complete game with 11 strikeouts for a 7-1 Mets win over the Cubs on August 7 at Shea. Darling was the winning pitcher and scored two runs in a 23-10 Mets victory at Chicago on August 16. He also recorded 10 strikeouts and a win in the Mets’ 4-3 triumph on September 5 at Los Angeles.
In 1988, Darling won 17 games and posted a 3.25 ERA. He had seven complete during the Mets’ division-winning season, four of which were shutouts. In the home opener on April 12, Ron pitched a five-hitter for a 3-0 Mets win over the Expos. He went all nine innings for a 4-0 Mets victory at St. Louis on April 22. Darling pitched a shutout for a 9-0 Mets win over the Pirates on June 21 at Shea. He had a five-hit shutout for an 8-0 Mets victory over the Dodgers at Shea on September 2. Ron pitched a complete game for a 3-1 win over the Phillies on September 22 at Shea to clinch the National League East Division title for the Mets. He also had two singles, a triple and two RBIs while getting the win in the Mets' season-closing 7-5 triumph over the Cardinals at Shea on October 2.
Ron’s 14 wins and 33 starts led the Mets in 1989. He had 153 strikeouts for the year. At San Diego on May 24, Ron got the win in a combined shutout with Rick Aguilera for a 3-0 Mets victory over the Padres. He hit his first major league home run and was the winning pitcher in a 4-2 Mets triumph over the Philles at Shea on June 24. Ron singled and hit a three-run homer in leading the Mets to an 11-1 win on June 30 at Cincinnati. He also struck out 10 batters and got the win in the Mets’ 4-1 victory over the Giants at Shea on August 21.
Darling served as both a starter and reliever in 1990. He pitched a total of 126 innings in 33 game appearances during the season. In the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 26, Ron pitched his only complete game of the year for a 6-1 Mets win over the Cardinals. He was the winning pitcher in the Mets’ 4-1 victory over the Dodgers at Shea on August 16. Darling also got the win in a combined shutout with Bob Ojeda and Jeff Innis for a 6-0 Mets triumph at Montreal on September 27.
In 1991, all of Darling’s 17 game appearances for the Mets were as a starter. He recorded five wins and 58 strikeouts in his final year with the team. At Philadelphia on April 23, Ron was the winning pitcher in the Mets’ 2-1 victory over the Phillies. He pitched seven innings and got the win in a 6-2 Mets triumph at San Francisco on May 11. Darling pitched eight innings to lead the Mets to a 7-2 win on June 22 at Atlanta. He also pitched eight innings of two-hit ball to combine with Alejandro Pena for a 4-0 Mets victory at Montreal on July 3.
On July 15, 1991, Darling was traded to the Expos with pitcher Mike Thomas for reliever Tim Burke. He appeared in three games for the Montreal team before finishing the season with the Oakland Athletics. Ron continued to pitch for the Athletics until the end of his career in 1995.
Darling became a Mets television broadcaster on SNY in 2006. He has also served the same role for nationally televised major league games on the TBS cable station.
