Danny Wayne Darwin (born October 25, 1955), known as the "Bonham Bullet" and "Dr. Death", is an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professiona ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...
and
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
, who played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
(MLB) for the
Texas Rangers,
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...
,
Houston Astros,
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...
,
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
,
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
, and
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
, from through . Over his MLB career, he amassed 171 wins and 182 losses, with a 3.84
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
(ERA).
Early life
Darwin attended
Bonham High School and
Grayson County College
Grayson College is a public community college in Grayson County, Texas. The main campus is in Denison and it has branch campuses in Denison (west extension, at the site of the old Perrin Air Force Base) and Van Alstyne (south campus).
Hi ...
. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the
Texas Rangers on May 10, 1976. He began his professional career with the
Asheville Tourists in Single-A in 1976. He pitched for the Double-A
Tulsa Drillers in 1977 and the Triple-A
Tucson Toros in 1978. With Tulsa, he was 13-4, 2.41 ERA in 23 starts with six complete games and four shutouts.
Major league baseball
He made his major league debut with the Rangers on September 8, 1978. He pitched two innings of relief in an 11-4 loss against the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
, giving up one run and two hits. On September 24 of the same year, he made his first major league start against the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
. He pitched six innings, giving up eight hits, striking out seven, and allowing only one walk to record his first victory.
Darwin did not become a full-time starter until 1981, a strike-shortened season. He made 22 starts that year, carving out a 9-9 record with a 3.64 ERA.
He pitched almost exclusively out of the bullpen in 1982, but returned to the Texas rotation the following year. He was traded to the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...
on January 18, 1985 as part of a four-team deal with the
Royals Royals may refer to:
Entertainment
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* "Royals" (song), a 2013 single by Lorde
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* ''The ...
and
Mets. He made 29 starts for Milwaukee during the 1985 campaign, posting a record of 8-18.
He was traded during the 1986 season to the
Houston Astros for
Mark Knudson and
Don August. He remained with Houston through 1990, gradually being switched from a starting pitcher to a reliever by his last years with the Astros. In his final season in Houston, he was 11-4, 2.21 era in 48 games (17 starts) to win the National League ERA title.
He signed with the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...
as a free agent after the season and pitched with them for four seasons, both as a starter and a reliever.
After leaving the Red Sox, he had a shaky season in 1995, starting with the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
, but being cut midway through the season (with a 1-8 record and 7.62 era) and signing with the
Texas Rangers again.
His return to Texas was short-lived, as he spent the last three years of his career bouncing around between teams. He signed with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
in 1996, who traded him back to the Astros at mid-season (for
Rich Loiselle). Then he signed with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
in 1997, only to be dealt at the trading deadline to the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
as part of a multi-player deal that sent
Wilson Álvarez and
Roberto Hernández to the Giants and
Keith Foulke,
Bob Howry,
Lorenzo Barceló,
Mike Caruso,
Ken Vining, and
Brian Manning to the White Sox in what became known as the
White Flag Trade. He finished his career in 1998, pitching 1/3 of an inning for the Giants in his final appearance against the Pirates.
Danny's younger brother,
Jeff Darwin
Jeffrey Scott Darwin (born July 6, 1969) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox.
Career
Darwin attended Bonham High School in Bon ...
(born 1969), also had a professional baseball career that lasted eleven years. Jeff, who also graduated from Bonham High School, spent parts of three seasons in the majors, including 1996–1997 with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
. Both Danny & Jeff were in the White Sox organization in 1997 but Danny was traded on July 31 and Jeff was not called up from the Minors until August 17. In 1998 again they were both with the Giants but Jeff spent the year at AAA and was not called up.
Later life
Darwin is the sponsor of the "Danny Darwin Celebrity Open Golf Tournament" at
North Central Texas College.
He was the pitching coach for the
Jacksonville Suns in the Double-A
Southern League from 2006–2007 and the pitching coach of the Class-A
Great Lakes Loons
The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007.
His ...
from 2008–2009 before joining Chattanooga for 2010.
In April 2018, Darwin became interim pitching coach for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
, promoted from Double-A
Pensacola Blue Wahoos, where he was pitching coach for three seasons.
In January 2019, Darwin was named the pitching coach for the Reds' Double-A affiliate, the
Chattanooga Lookouts.
Incidents
Orel Hershiser punch
During a brawl between the Phillies and the Giants, Orel Hershiser claims Darwin punched him in the face. At the time, the two were teammates. Hershiser claimed it was retribution for Hershiser hitting Darwin back when he was pitching against him.
Physical altercation with Barry Bonds
During a game while playing with the Giants, Darwin and
Barry Bonds got into a heated argument when Bonds lazily fielded a hit that became an RBI.
Darwin, Bonds Have Tiff in Loss - SFGate
/ref>
See also
* Houston Astros award winners and league leaders
* List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
* List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
References
External links
Danny Darwin
at Astros Daily
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Danny
1955 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Asheville Tourists players
Baseball coaches from Texas
Baseball players from Texas
Boston Red Sox players
Chicago White Sox players
Houston Astros players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Milwaukee Brewers players
National League ERA champions
Oklahoma City 89ers players
People from Bonham, Texas
Pittsburgh Pirates players
San Francisco Giants players
Texas Rangers players
Toronto Blue Jays players
Tucson Toros players
Tulsa Drillers players