Who is Ron Darling?
Ron Darling is an American former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, and Oakland Athletics. He serves as SportsNet New York Mets game and studio analyst, working over 100 Mets telecasts each season. Currently, he is a color commentator for national baseball coverage on TBS and co-hosts several MLB Network programs.
In his 13-year playing career, he amassed a 136–116 won-loss record, with 13 shutouts. He also had 1,590 strikeouts and a 3.87 ERA. In 1985, he was picked for the All-Star team. Currently, he works as a color commentator for national baseball coverage on TBS as well as for the Mets on both SNY and WPIX. Also, he 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.
A College Career
According to a Mets broadcast televised on April 24, 2015, Darling had two majors that were collectively called “American studies” at Yale College. There, he began his college career or the Yale Bulldogs in the Ivy League as a position player and did not pitch regularly until his sophomore season.
He faced future Mets teammate Frank Viola, then playing for St. John’s University, in an NCAA postseason game, and he had a no-hitter through 11 innings on May 21, 1981. St. John’s broke up the no-hitter in the 12th inning and then scored on a double-steal to beat Yale 1–0. His performance remains the longest no-hitter in NCAA history. The game is also considered by some to be the best in college baseball history. It was the subject of a New Yorker story by Roger Angell, who attended the game.
He was set to graduate in December 1982 but he was drafted in June 1981 by the Texas Rangers. He went on to play more games in Major League Baseball than any Yale alumnus since 19th-century pitcher Bill Hutchinson. Ron was the last former Yale Bulldog to reach the Major Leagues until pitcher Craig Breslow made his debut in 2005 (and was not followed by another Yale player until catcher Ryan Lavarnway in 2011).
How Old is Ron Darling?
He is 62 years old as of February 2023, having been born on August 19, 1960, in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Ron Darling shares his birthday with celebrities such as; Tony Lopez, Tayler Holder, Ethan Cutkosky, Bill Clinton, John Stamos, and many more.
Ron Darling Family
Who are Darling’s parents?
Darling was born to a Hawaiian-Chinese mother and a French-Canadian father. He grew up in Millbury, Massachusetts.
Does Darling have siblings?
Darling has a younger brother Edwin, a first baseman. Edwin was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1981 and played 69 games in their farm system over two seasons.
Ron Darling Education
Darling attended St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He later attended Yale College.
Ron Darling Wife
Ron was previously married to Irish Wilhelmina model Antoinette O’Reilly. Antoinette had small roles on television and in movies, sometimes using her married name, Toni Darling. During their marriage, the couple appeared in numerous magazine features together.
She is married to the love of her life Joanna Last, a makeup artist for Fox Sports. They married in 2004. He lives in Brooklyn.
Ron Darling Children
Darling has two children from his first marriage to Antoinette, Tyler Darling, and Jordan Darling. He also has a son, Ronald Maurice Darling III (born in February 2016) with his second wife.
Ron Darling New York Mets
He won a spot in the starting rotation in 1984 and maintained a spot there almost uninterrupted until 1990. While darling’s early walk percentages were poor—he even led the league in walks in 1985. Darling never again showed the terrible walk percentages he had while playing AAA ball.
He was sent to the bullpen part-time for the first time in his career in 1990. Ron’s first relief performance in late April went well but was followed by three terrible starts. The rest of Ron’s season was a mix of starting and relief. Darling was in the bullpen for the next month with an ERA of 4.60 in late August. He was in the bullpen for the next month. Darling made two starts to close out his season and won them both. However, the New York Mets could not catch the Pittsburgh Pirates. 1990 was his first losing season (7–9) and it was his worst ERA to date.
Ron Darling Television
Darling has been active on television since 2000. He has worked as a broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics, had a FOX show called Baseball Today, and also appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period. Ron provided baseball analysis for the YES Network, Fox Sports Net, and, in 2004, CSTV.
He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot for 2001, receiving only one vote, and thus was removed from further consideration. He was also involved in banking ventures in Southern California in 2005. Darling was hired to be the television color commentator for the inaugural season of the Washington Nationals. He worked alongside veteran play-by-play announcer Mel Proctor on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). MASN suffered low viewership due to legal battles between Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos and Comcast cable television. The duo was not asked to return to MASN by the Nationals for 2006.
Ron Darling SportsNet New York
Ron joined SNY as a color commentator and studio analyst for the New York Mets. He joined radio veteran Gary Cohen and former Mets teammate Keith Hernandez. He also appears on some of the SNY-produced WPIX broadcasts in the New York Metropolitan Area.
Darling won an Emmy Award as Best Sports Analyst for his work on the Mets broadcasts. He has appeared in a Sovereign Bank commercial in 2008, which is frequently shown on SNY. He is often joked about among the three Mets broadcasters during games.
Ron also serves as an offseason studio analyst for The MLB Network and a game analyst for Turner Sports’ MLB regular season and Postseason coverage.
He volunteered to provide play-by-play commentary for television broadcasts of Mets’ spring training games in 2015. Ron took a leave of absence from the Mets booth for health reasons in April 2019.
Ron Darling TBS
He was a color analyst for TBS’s coverage of the 2007 MLB Playoffs 2007. Darling was paired with play-by-play man Dick Stockton in 2007. Pairing with Chip Caray, Ron provides commentary for the network’s regular-season coverage as of 2008. He then joined Caray’s other regular partner, Buck Martinez during the playoffs.
Ron Darling Cancer
Darling announced on May 6, 2019, that he had been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer.
Ron Darling Books
2019 – 108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game
2009 – The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound
2016 – Game 7, 1986 – Failure and Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life
Ron Darling Net Worth
The former starting pitcher and SportsNet commentator have a net worth of $11 million.
