Minor Leagues
He was selected in the 1st round (9th overall) of the 1981 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. He put up mediocre numbers with the AA Tulsa Drillers and, before the 1982 season began, he and Walt Terrell were traded to the Mets for Lee Mazzilli in an ill-advised trade. For the Mets, Darling and Terrell would eventually combine for seven double-digit win seasons. They traded Terrell three seasons later for Howard Johnson. For Texas, Mazzilli never regained his limited glory of the late 1970s.
Darling would have compiled decent numbers with the AAA Tidewater Tides in 1982 and 1983 except for very high base on balls counts during both seasons. Despite that, Darling was called up to the majors in late 1983. The Mets had the worst record in the National League and second-worst in the majors when Darling debuted on September 6, 1983. He was impressive in that start but left the game down 1–0 and the Mets lost 2–0. The Mets were also last in offense in the N.L. Darling's 0–3 start were all in decent pitching performances. He finished his season with a complete game victory and was in the majors for good.
Read more about this topic: Ron Darling
Famous quotes containing the words minor and/or leagues:
“There are acacias, a graceful species amusingly devitalized by sentimentality, this kind drooping its leaves with the grace of a young widow bowed in controllable grief, this one obscuring them with a smooth silver as of placid tears. They please, like the minor French novelists of the eighteenth century, by suggesting a universe in which nothing cuts deep.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“By a knight of ghosts and shadows
I summon’d am to a tourney
Ten leagues beyond the wide world’s end:
Methinks it is no journey.”
—Unknown. Tom o’ Bedlam’s Song (l. 57–60)