Darrell Porter

Darrell Ray Porter (January 17, 1952 – August 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player.[1] He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1987 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Rangers.[1] The four-time All-Star was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting ability.[2] He struggled but was never able to overcome a substance abuse problem, yet went on to become the most valuable player of the 1982 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals.[2] Porter died from an accidental drug overdose in 2002 at the age of 50.[2]

Darrell Porter
Porter with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983
Catcher
Born: (1952-01-17)January 17, 1952
Joplin, Missouri
Died: August 5, 2002(2002-08-05) (aged 50)
Sugar Creek, Missouri
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 2, 1971, for the Milwaukee Brewers
Last MLB appearance
October 4, 1987, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
Batting average.247
Home runs188
Runs batted in826
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Biography

Playing career

Born in Joplin, Missouri, Porter was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.[3] He made his major league debut on September 2, 1971, with the Brewers at age 19.[1] He finished third in the 1973 Rookie of the Year voting.[4] Porter was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1974.[1] On December 6, 1976, the Milwaukee Brewers traded Porter along with Jim Colborn to the Kansas City Royals for Jamie Quirk, Jim Wohlford and Bob McClure.[5]

Porter replaced Buck Martinez as the Royals starting catcher. He had the best season of his career in 1979 when, he posted a .291 batting average along with 20 home runs, 112 runs batted in and led the league with 121 walks.[1] He became only the sixth catcher in Major League history to score 100 runs and have 100 runs batted in.[6] The feat had previously been accomplished by Mickey Cochrane, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench, and Carlton Fisk—all in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Only Porter and Cochrane had 100 walks, 100 runs, and 100 RBI in a single season.[7] He ended the 1979 season ranked third in Wins Above Replacement behind Fred Lynn and his Royals teammate George Brett.[8] With the Royals, he was selected to three consecutive American League All-Star teams.[1]

Drug problems

Porter told the Associated Press that during the winter of 1979–1980, he became paranoid, and he was convinced that baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn—who was known to be tough on drug use—knew about his drug abuse. Porter said he believed that Kuhn was trying to sneak into his house and planned to ban him from baseball for life. Porter found himself sitting up at night in the dark watching out the front window, waiting for Kuhn to approach while clutching billiard balls and a shotgun.

During spring training in 1980, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe paid a visit to the Kansas City clubhouse. He asked the players ten questions, the point of which being if a player answered three or more of the questions with an affirmation, the player might have a problem with drugs or alcohol. Porter affirmed all ten questions and checked himself into a rehabilitation center, admitting he had abused alcohol, cocaine, Quaaludes, and marijuana.[2]

Later career

After checking into the rehab center, Porter became a born-again Christian, married, and became a spokesman for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. His production on the field declined after rehab, and he never again approached his 1979 levels. He went on to play in three World Series—in 1980 with the Royals and in 1982 and 1985 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Porter won both the 1982 National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award and the 1982 World Series MVP Award.[1][9] At the time, Porter was only the second player in baseball history to win both awards in a single postseason; Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates won both awards in 1979. After the 1985 season, the Cardinals released Porter, and he wound up his career with two seasons with the Texas Rangers as a part-time player. He appeared in his final major league game on October 4, 1987 and retired at the age of 35.[1]

Career statistics

In a 17-year major league career, Porter played in 1,782 games, accumulating 1,369 hits in 5,539 at bats for a .247 career batting average along with 188 home runs, 826 runs batted in and a .354 on-base percentage.[1] He ended his career with a .982 fielding percentage.[1] As of the 2009 season, he ranked 21st on the all-time list for home runs by a catcher and 20th all-time for RBI by a catcher.[10][11] Porter caught two no-hitters during his career—Jim Colborn in 1977 and Bob Forsch's second career no-hitter in 1983.[12][13] Porter was also notable for being one of the few Major League catchers of his time to wear eyeglasses behind the plate at a time when most players needing vision correction were using contact lenses.

Personal life

Porter was married twice. His first marriage, in 1972 to the former Teri Brown, ended in divorce in 1976. On November 29, 1980, Porter married Deanne Gaulter. The couple had three children: Lindsey, Jeffrey, and Ryan.

In 1984, Porter wrote an autobiography titled Snap Me Perfect!, in which he detailed his life in baseball and his struggles with substance abuse.[2]

Later life and death

In 2000, Porter was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall Of Fame. He dabbled in both broadcasting and the antique business on and off during his post-baseball years. On August 5, 2002, he left his home in Lee's Summit, Missouri, saying he was going to buy a newspaper and go to the park. That evening, he was found dead outside his vehicle in Sugar Creek, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City.[2] An autopsy found he had died of "toxic effects of cocaine." The autopsy indicated that the level of cocaine in Porter's system—consistent with recreational use—induced a condition called excited delirium that caused his heart to stop.[14] Police theorized that Porter's car went off a road and got caught on a tree stump in La Benite Park in Sugar Creek. Police say Porter got out of the car, walked to the nearby Missouri River, and then walked back to his car. Authorities had initially speculated that he overheated while trying to push the car off the stump in high heat and humidity, but there was no evidence to indicate that he tried to move the car. The exact events surrounding his death are still unknown.

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References
  1. "Darrell Porter Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  2. "Darrell Porter Obituary at The New York Times". The New York Times. NYT. 7 August 2002. p. 23. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. "1970 Major League Baseball Draft". mlb.com. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  4. 1973 American League Rookie of the Year voting results at Baseball Reference
  5. "Milwaukee team leads baseball trading day". Kingman Daily Miner. AP. 7 December 1976. p. 4. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  6. Darrell Porter Joins a Select Group of Catchers, Baseball Digest, January 1980, Vol. 39, No. 1, ISSN 0005-609X
  7. "Darrell Porter at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers". The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers. 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  8. "1979 Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  9. Post-Season World Series MVP Awards & All-Star Game MVP Award Winners at Baseball Reference
  10. Home runs by catchers at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
  11. RBIs by catchers at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
  12. May 14, 1977 Rangers-Royals box score at Retrosheet
  13. September 26, 1983 Expos-Cardinals box score at Retrosheet
  14. Doctor says Porter did not die of an overdose, ESPN.com, August 13, 2002

Bibliography
  • Snap Me Perfect!: The Darrell Porter Story, T. Nelson, 1984. ISBN 0-8407-5367-5. (With William Deerfield.)
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