Ron Darling Biography
Ron Darling (Ronald Maurice Darling Jr.) is an American Host, Commentator, Author, and former pro-Baseball Player working for MLB Network and TBS as a sports color commentator. As a baseball player, he played as a right-handed pitcher and he is famously known for playing for the New York Mets team.
Ron Darling Age
Darling was born on August 19, 1960, in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. He is therefore 63 years old as of 2023. He celebrates his birthday on the 19th of August every year.
Ron Darling Height
Darling stands at an approximate height of 6 feet and 3 inches.
Ron Darling Family
Darling was born to Luciana Darling (mother) and Ronald Darling (father). His dad is French-Canadian and Hawaiian-Chinese. He grew up in Millbury, Massachusetts alongside his younger brother, Edwin “Eddie” Darling. Edwin is a baseball player, who plays as a first baseman. In the year 1981, the New York Yankees chose him to join their team. He spent more than 2 seasons playing 69 games in their farm system.
Ron Darling Wife
Darling is a married man and his spouse is Joanna Last, Fox Sports’s makeup artist. They tied the knot in the year 2004. They happily reside in Connecticut.
Ron Darling Ex-Wife
Darling was married to Antoinette O’Reilly, an Irish Wilhelmina model. Antoinette had little parts on TV and in films and she occasionally used her married name, Toni Darling. While they were married, Darling and Antoinette showed up in many magazine articles together.
Ron Darling Children / Sons
Darling has a total of 3 kids; 2 of them from his ex-wife and the other one from his current wife. He and his current wife Joanna take great pride in being dad and mom to their one son, Ronald Maurice Darling III. Darling and his ex-wife Antoinette were blessed with 2 sons, Jordan Darling and Tyler Darling. Jordan is 30 years old as of 2023 having been born in the year 1993.
Ron Darling Net Worth
Darling has an estimated net worth of $11 Million which he has earned through his successful career as a Host, Commentator, and Pro-Baseball Player.
Ron Darling Salary
As an MLB sports color commentator, Darling earns an annual salary of about $2.5 million.
Ron Darling Career
Ron Darling Broadcasting Career | Education
Darling is a proud December 1982 alumnus of Yale University. He had his high school education at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He serves at MLB Network and TBS as a sports color commentator and offseason studio analyst. He often makes appearances at “Hot Stove” (a daily offseason morning program) and “MLB Tonight” (an Emmy Award-winning flagship program). Darling has been working with the network since the year 2013. He also serves as a game expert for Turner Sports, covering MLB games during the regular season and the Postseason.
Darling started his career as a broadcaster in the year 2000. He had different broadcasting jobs, including working for the Oakland Athletics. Darling even hosted the program “Baseball Today” on Fox and showed up on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period”. He also covered baseball on the CSTV, Fox Sports Net, and YES Network in the year 2004.
At one point, he was on the Hall of Fame ballot in the year 2001, but he only got 1 vote, so they didn’t think about it further. Then, on January 28, 2020, the Mets said that they would put Darling into the New York Mets Hall of Fame on May 17, but they changed the date to July 31, 2021. He holds 2 Emmys for being the best sports expert. He was honored with those awards after reporting on the New York Mets on SportsNet New York (SNY).
Ron Darling Baseball Career
Darling started in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Mets for 8 years (from 1983 to 1991). After that, he played briefly for the Montreal Expos in the year 1991 and then the Oakland Athletics for 4 years (from 1991 to 1995). One of the big things people remember him for is being part of the New York Mets team that won the 1986 World Series. Since the year 2006, he has been one of the main people who talk about the Mets on TV alongside his Keith Hernandez (former teammate).
Darling was an All-Star in the National League in the year 1985 and received the Gold Glove Award for National League pitchers in the year 1989. He is famous for his achievements in Mets history, ranking 4th in team wins with 99 victories. He’s also among the top ten in categories like complete games, strikeouts, innings, and shutouts. In the World Series of the year 1986, he only allowed 3 earned runs in more than 17 innings and won Game 4 in Boston to make the series even. In the year 2020, Darling was honored by being inducted into the Hall of Fame of the New York Mets.
Darling used five different pitches when he played baseball: curveball, the slider, circle changeup, 4-seam fastball, and splitter. In the early years of his career, he struggled with control and ended up among the top 4 in base on balls for 3 seasons. However, as he continued in his career, he got much better at controlling his pitches. He was known as among the best pitchers when it came to fielding and had a really good move to pick off runners, especially for a right-handed pitcher. He was quite athletic and sometimes even ran for other players in a pinch. In the year 1989, he even hit home runs in 2 games in a row, which was quite an achievement. Apart from playing for the Mets, Darling also played for the Oakland Athletics and the Montreal Expos.
During his time as a pitcher, Darling won a total of 136 games with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.87. He was part of the Mets team that won the World Series in the year 1986. Two years later, he had an impressive season, winning 17 games and helping the Mets become the NL East champions. Additionally, he made history as the 1st Mets pitcher to receive the Gold Glove Award in the year 1989.
Ron Darling Stats (Overall)
Below is an average statistic analyzed from Darling’s career as a baseball player.
- Earned run average 3.87
- Win-loss record 136–116
- Strikeouts 1,590
Ron Darling Cancer / Illness
On May 6, 2019, Darling announced that he had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and that he would need to take time off from his work as a broadcaster on TBS and MLB Network. On the announcement, he revealed that he had recently undergone surgery to remove a mass from his chest just the month before. However, his doctors informed him that the cancer could be treated. So, he went through the necessary treatments, and he successfully recovered, and he is now in good health.
Ron Darling Books
Besides appearing on TV and having played baseball, Darling is also an author. He has written 3 books;
- Game 7, 1986: Failure and Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life
- The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound
- 108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game
Ron Darling MLB Network
Darling is working at MLB Network alongside other famous MLB analysts, hosts, and commentators such as;
- Yonder Alonso
- Greg Amsinger
- Rubén Amaro Jr.
- A.J. Andrews
- Alex Avila
- Bob Costas
- Ryan Dempster
- Mark DeRosa
- Robert Flores
- Cliff Floyd
- Peter Gammons
- Lauren Gardner
- Jon Heyman
- Brian Kenny
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