Darren Daulton

Darren Arthur Daulton (January 3, 1962 – August 6, 2017), nicknamed "Dutch",[1] was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1983, 1985–1997) and Florida Marlins (1997). While with the Phillies, Daulton was a three-time MLB All-Star and won the 1992 Silver Slugger Award. He won the 1997 World Series with the Marlins.[1]

Not to be confused with actor Darren Dalton.

Darren Daulton
Daulton in 2012
Catcher
Born: (1962-01-03)January 3, 1962
Arkansas City, Kansas
Died: August 6, 2017(2017-08-06) (aged 55)
Clearwater, Florida
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 25, 1983, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1997, for the Florida Marlins
MLB statistics
Batting average.245
Home runs137
Runs batted in588
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

Early years
1988 Philadelphia Phillies #10 Darren Daulton home jersey

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Daulton in the 25th round of the 1980 Major League Baseball draft.[2] On September 25, 1983, he made his major league debut for the Phillies. Daulton had three at bats for the Phillies in 1983.[3] Through 1988, he played sparingly, due chiefly to the presence of all-star catchers Ozzie Virgil Jr. and Lance Parrish. Daulton became the Phillies' full-time catcher in 1989.[4] Throughout his early career, his primary value to the team was as a defensive catcher — his cumulative batting average of .206, through the 1988 season, was barely above the Mendoza Line — and he never appeared in as many as 60 games, in any single season. Daulton's breakout season was 1990, his first as his team's primary backstop; that year, he batted .268, with 57 runs batted in (RBI) — which, when coupled with his skills behind the plate, earned him a three-year contract worth $6.75 million.[5] Daulton caught Terry Mulholland's no-hitter, on August 15, 1990.[6]

1991–1993 seasons

Following a slump, in 1991, that saw his batting average fall below .200, Daulton led the National League (NL) in RBIs, for 1992, with 109.[7] He also finished in the top 10 in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs, walks, runs created, and extra base hits.[8] Daulton earned his first All-star appearance, the NL Silver Slugger Award,[9] and sixth place in NL MVP voting.[10]

Daulton was one of the catalysts of the NL pennant-winning 1993 Phillies. Although the Phillies lost the World Series, Daulton was again named an All-star, drove in more than 100 runs for the second consecutive season, and finished seventh in NL MVP voting.[11] He once again finished in the league’s top 10 in on-base percentage, RBIs, walks, and extra base hits. Daulton also finished in the top 10 in times on base and intentional walks.[12]

Injury problems

Knee injuries soon caught up with Daulton. In 1994, he was hitting .300, with 15 home runs, and 56 RBIs, through 67 games, when he was injured.[13] In 1995, Daulton was named to his third all-star team;[14] however, he played in only 98 games, and finished the year with just nine home runs.[15] Daulton never caught another big league game after August 25, 1995.[16]

Daulton missed nearly the entire 1996 season due to injury; he played in only five games, all as an outfielder.[1][17][18] In 1997, he returned to the outfield in an attempt to keep his still-productive bat in the line-up, despite his chronic injuries. Daulton also played 42 games as a first baseman.[1][19]

Trade to the Florida Marlins

On July 21, 1997, after 17 years with the Phillies organization, the club traded Daulton to the Florida Marlins for Billy McMillon.[20] By that time, Daulton's knee injuries had escalated even further, limiting his usage to playing first base and pinch hitting. He ended the 1997 campaign with a .263 batting average, 14 home runs, 63 RBI, and 68 runs scored, in 395 at bats. Daulton batted 7-for-18 (.389) in the 1997 World Series, as the Marlins defeated the Cleveland Indians.[21] Daulton announced his retirement, after the series.[4]

Career statistics

In 14 MLB seasons, Daulton hit .245, with 137 home runs, 588 RBIs, and 511 runs scored, in 1,161 games played.[21] Bill James ranked Daulton as the 25th-greatest major league catcher of all-time, in the 2001 edition of his Historical Baseball Abstract.[22]

On August 6, 2010, Daulton was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame.[23]

Post-playing career

Daulton was arrested several times on vehicle-related charges. He was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in Pinellas County, Florida, in 1988, and his driver's license was suspended for a year after he refused to take a breathalyzer test. His license was also suspended in the late 1990s due to unpaid speeding tickets; he received at least five during that time period, including one for traveling over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in a 65-mile-per-hour (105 km/h) zone. While under his license suspension, he was involved in a single-vehicle accident on January 3, 2001, causing $20,000 worth of damage to his BMW sedan. He again refused to be tested, and was charged with DUI, driving with a suspended license, and failing to appear in court.[24]

Two years later, he was arrested again for driving with a suspended license and DUI, after again refusing to be tested for alcohol.[25] He was also arrested for battery against his wife. He served two and a half months in jail and spent another two and a half months in drug rehabilitation.[26]

Daulton authored a book on occultism and numerology, titled If They Only Knew, published in 2007. In the book he discusses numerous aspects of occultism, referencing experts in the field, and his personal experience with the paranormal.

From 2010 to 2016, during the Philadelphia Phillies season, Daulton hosted the radio show "Talking Baseball with Dutch" from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on sports radio station WPEN in Philadelphia.[26]

On July 1, 2013, Daulton underwent surgery for resection of two brain tumors related to glioblastoma[27] at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.[28] On February 23, 2015, Daulton announced that he was cancer-free. The cancer returned in early 2017, and Daulton died from brain cancer on August 6, 2017, aged 55.[29]

Publications
  • Darren Daulton (2007). If They Only Knew. Blue Note Books. ISBN 978-1878398932.
  • William C. Kashatus (2017) Macho Row: The 1993 Phillies and Baseball's Unwritten Code. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803290860

See also

References
  1. "Darren Daulton Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. "Phillies great Darren Daulton loses 4-year battle with brain cancer". The Star-Ledger. July 1, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  3. Jayson Stark (October 14, 1993). "From the archives: A win sweet for all, sweetest for Daulton". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  4. Snyder, Matt. "Phillies great Darren Daulton dies at age 55 after four-year battle with brain cancer". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. Livingstone, Seth (November 3, 1990). "Free agents start cashing in". The Telegraph. p. 18. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  6. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Philadelphia Phillies 6, San Francisco Giants 0". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. August 15, 1990. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  7. ET. "Darren Daulton, former Philadelphia Phillies catcher, dies at 55". ESPN. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  8. "1992 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  9. "MLB Silver Slugger Award Winners - National League". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  10. "1992 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  11. "1993 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  12. "1993 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  13. Cwik, Chris. "Former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton dies after battle with cancer". Yahoo!. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  14. "1995 All-Star Game Box Score, July 11". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  15. "1995 Philadelphia Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  16. "Philadelphia Phillies 17, Los Angeles Dodgers 4". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. August 25, 1995. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  17. "Daulton Goes Down, Maybe Out". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 8, 1996. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  18. "Daulton's Return on Hold". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1996. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  19. Walker, Ben (May 11, 1997). "Baseball Notebook". Herald-Journal. Associated Press. p. D4. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  20. "Phillies Send Daulton to Marlins - latimes". Los Angeles Times. July 22, 1997. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  21. "Former All-Star catcher from Ark City dies at 55". ctnewsonline.com. July 1, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  22. Fitzpatrick, Frank. "Former Phillies catcher Darren 'Dutch' Daulton dies at 55". Philly.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  23. Mario Aguirre (August 7, 2010). "For Daulton, butterflies as he's enshrined on Wall". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  24. "Bosman, DeMerritt help fill out Rays staff". St Petersburg Times. January 5, 2001. Archived from the original on February 21, 2001. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  25. "Former catcher Daulton arrested on DUI charges". ESPN. July 18, 2003. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  26. "Department: Is Darren Daulton Crazy? - Philadelphia Magazine". Phillymag.com. December 23, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  27. "Darren Daulton Passes Along Good News". CBS News. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  28. "Darren Daulton has surgery to remove brain tumors". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports Philadelphia. July 1, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  29. Kelly, Matt (August 6, 2017). "Phillies legend Daulton passes away at 55: Wall of Fame catcher 'Dutch' battled brain cancer for 4 years". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
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