Danny Darwin

Danny Darwin
Danny Wayne Darwin (born October 25, 1955), known as the "Bonham Bullet" and "Dr. Death", is an American professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and San Francisco Giants, from through . Over his MLB career, he amassed 171 wins and 182 losses, with a 3.84 earned run average (ERA).
Early life
Darwin attended Bonham High School and Grayson County College. 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
Darwin 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, 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. 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.
Darwin 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 on January 18, 1985, as part of a four-team deal with the Royals and Mets. Darwin made 29 starts for Milwaukee during the 1985 campaign, posting a record of 8–18.
Darwin was traded during the 1986 season to the Houston Astros for Mark Knudson and Don August. He had a stellar regular season, but Darwin never saw action as a postseason starter because he was being saved for a World Series bid (specifically Game 1) due to the Astros (managed by Hal Lanier) relying on a three-man trio of starters in Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, and Bob Knepper; the Astros lost in the 1986 National League Championship Series to the New York Mets. As it turned out, Darwin would never pitch in a postseason game in his career despite being on a playoff roster. 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.
Darwin signed with the Boston Red Sox 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, Darwin had a shaky season in 1995, starting with the Toronto Blue Jays, but being cut midway through the season (with a 1–8 record and 7.62 ERA) and signing with the Texas Rangers again.
Darwin's 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 in 1996, who traded him back to the Astros at mid-season (for Rich Loiselle). Then he signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1997, only to be dealt at the trading deadline to the San Francisco Giants 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. The Giants made the playoffs by winning the division title, and Darwin was scheduled to start Game 4 of the 1997 National League Division Series against the Florida Marlins. However, the Giants lost in a sweep, which meant that Darwin had been in a playoff roster twice in his career but did not make an appearance. He finished his career in 1998, pitching one-third of an inning for the Giants, in his final appearance against the Pirates.
Danny's younger brother, Jeff (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. Both Danny and 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 to 2007 and the pitching coach of the Class-A Great Lakes Loons from 2008 to 2009 before joining Chattanooga for 2010.
In April 2018, Darwin became interim pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds, 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.
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
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