RIP Darren Daulton

Wow, didn't know he had cancer. I remember him as part of those great Phillies teams in the early 1990s. Pretty sad and way too young.

Former All-Star catcher Darren Daulton dies at 55

 

Man, this one hurts.

 

Sucks bad. But his was not a lifestyle geared to many years on the planet. "I can assure you, there's probably no one in any sport that has taken more drugs that I have."

http://deadspin.com/5304826/darren-daulton-wants-to-makes-it-clear-that-he-has-done-a-lot-drugs

Looking at Google, appears he did have a wife (his third) taking care of him at the end.

 

My first peer who was openly gay was a guy I had several classes with in college. He was a huge baseball fan who once told me that he thought Darren Daulton was the hottest man alive.

Can't think of "Dutch" without thinking of that. RIP.

 

Lenny outlives another one.

 

No shit.

 

Shame.
The fact he had brain cancer explains his quirks.
He autographed a bat for me when he was the Phillies bullpen catcher in the late 80s.

 

Was your friend a pitcher or a catcher? JK.

 

Worked with a female sports designer in the late '90s who said the same thing, even though she was engaged at the time.

He was known mostly for what he did with the Phillies, of course, but he was a great late-season pickup for the '97 world champion Marlins, as much for his leadership as his on-field contributions. That team had a few wackos in the clubhouse -- notably Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Kevin Brown -- and Daulton wasn't afraid to kick a few butts when needed.

 

I can assure you Daulton wasn't kicking the butts of Sheffield, Bonilla or Brown, who were all veterans and superior players. The '97 Marlins were generally a veteran team and Daulton was playing out the last couple months of his career.

 

Maybe so, but many people who were close to the situation -- including the manager -- praised his leadership skills during those few months he was with the team and talked about he wasn't afraid to say what needed to be said, even if it meant bruising a few big egos. Full disclosure: I worked closely with one of the beat writers at the time. He had the utmost respect for Daulton and spoke often about his role in the clubhouse.

 

He was a nice veteran presence to have around on the club.