Darrell Porter
Born: (1952-01-17)January 17, 1952
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
Milwaukee Brewers (1971–1976)
Kansas City Royals (1977–1980)
St. Louis Cardinals (1981–1985)
Texas Rangers (1986–1987)
4× All-Star (1974, 1978–1980)
World Series champion (1982)
World Series MVP (1982)
NLCS MVP (1982)
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 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers.[1] He was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting.[2] He was also known for being one of the first American professional athletes to publicly admit he had a problem with substance abuse.
1.1 Playing career
1.1.1 Drug problems
1.1.2 Later career
1.3 Later life and death
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 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, but had his best years after he was traded in 1976 to the Kansas City Royals, where he was selected to the All-Star team four times.[1] In 1979, Porter became only the sixth catcher in Major League history to score 100 runs and have 100 runs batted in.[5] 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, runs and RBI in a single season.[6] He became a fan favorite for his intensity;[citation needed] teammate George Brett once said of Porter, "Darrell always played like it was the seventh game of the World Series."
Porter told the Associated Press that during the winter of 1979-1980, he became paranoid, convinced that baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, known to be tough on drug use, knew about his drug abuse, 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, 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 10 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 10 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; but his production on the field declined, never again approaching 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, winning the 1982 League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award and the World Series MVP Award in 1982.[1][7] After the 1985 season, the Cardinals released him, and he wound up his career with two seasons with the Texas Rangers as a part-time player.
Over 17 Major League seasons, Porter had a career batting average of .247 and an on-base percentage of .354 with 188 home runs, 826 RBIs and a .982 fielding percentage.[1] As of the 2009 season, he ranked 21st on the all-time list for home runs by a catcher, ranked as only player to bat with one hand, and 20th for RBIs by a catcher.[8][9] Porter caught two no-hitters during his career (Jim Colborn in 1977, Bob Forsch's second career no-hitter in 1983).[10][11] 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.
Porter was married twice. His first marriage, to the former Teri Brown in 1972, ended in divorce in 1976. On November 29, 1980, he married Deanne Gaulter, who survived him in death. 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
Porter dabbled in broadcasting late in his life, and also in the antique business on and off during his post-baseball years. But on August 5, 2002, he left home, saying he was going to buy a newspaper and go to the park. He was found dead in Sugar Creek, Missouri, outside his vehicle that evening.[2] An autopsy said he had died of "toxic effects of cocaine;" the level of cocaine in his system, consistent with recreational use, induced a condition called excited delirium that caused his heart to stop.[12] Police theorize that Porter's car went off a road and got caught on a tree stump in La Benite Park in Sugar Creek, a Kansas City suburb. He got out of the car, walked to the nearby Missouri River and then 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 scenario at his death site is still unknown.
Biography portal
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Darrell Porter at Baseball Reference
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Darrell Porter Obituary at The New York Times
↑ 1970 Amateur Baseball Draft at Baseball Almanac
↑ 1973 American League Rookie of the Year voting results at Baseball Reference
↑ Darrell Porter Joins a Select Group of Catchers, by Larry F. Rasmussen, Baseball Digest, January 1980, Vol. 39, No. 1, ISSN 0005-609X
↑ Darrell Porter at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
↑ Post-Season World Series MVP Awards & All-Star Game MVP Award Winners at Baseball Reference
↑ Home runs by catchers at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
↑ RBIs by catchers at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
↑ May 14, 1977 Rangers-Royals box score at Retrosheet
↑ September 26, 1983 Expos-Cardinals box score at Retrosheet
↑ Doctor says Porter did not die of an overdose, ESPN.com, August 13, 2002
Snap Me Perfect!: The Darrell Porter Story, T. Nelson, 1984. ISBN 0-8407-5367-5. (With William Deerfield.)
Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
Dallas News: "Darrell Porter's Sad Final Chapter"
Autopsy: Porter had cocaine in system when he died
Photo of Porter at Find a Grave
1970 Major League Baseball Draft First Round Selections
Mike Ivie
Steve Dunning
Barry Foote
Lee Richard
Randy Scarbery
Rex Goodson
Jim Haller
Paul Dade
Jim Browning
Dave Cheadle
John Bedard
Charles Maxwell
Gary Polczynski
Jimmy Hacker
John D'Acquisto
Dan Ford
Gene Hiser
Terry Mappin
Ron Broaddus
Bob Gorinski
George Ambrow
St. Louis Cardinals 1982 World Series Champions
1 Ozzie Smith
5 Mike Ramsey
10 Ken Oberkfell
11 Glenn Brummer
14 Julio González
15 Darrell Porter (NLCS and World Series MVP)
18 Gene Tenace
19 Dane Iorg
22 David Green
25 George Hendrick
26 Steve Braun
27 Lonnie Smith
28 Tom Herr
31 Bob Forsch
32 Jeff Lahti
33 John Martin
36 Jim Kaat
37 Keith Hernandez
38 Steve Mura
39 Dave LaPoint
40 Doug Bair
42 Bruce Sutter
47 Joaquín Andújar
48 John Stuper
51 Willie McGee
24 Whitey Herzog
2 Red Schoendienst
3 Dave Ricketts
4 Chuck Hiller
8 Hal Lanier
9 Hub Kittle
National League Championship Series
World Series MVP Award
1955: Podres
1956: Larsen
1957: Burdette
1958: Turley
1959: Sherry
1961: Ford
1962: Terry
1963: Koufax
1964: Gibson
1966: F. Robinson
1968: Lolich
1969: Clendenon
1970: B. Robinson
1971: Clemente
1972: Tenace
1974: Fingers
1975: Rose
1976: Bench
1978: Dent
1979: Stargell
1980: Schmidt
1981: Cey, Guerrero & Yeager
1982: Porter
1983: Dempsey
1984: Trammell
1985: Saberhagen
1986: Knight
1987: Viola
1988: Hershiser
1989: Stewart
1990: Rijo
1991: Morris
1992: Borders
1993: Molitor
1994: No series
1995: Glavine
1996: Wetteland
1997: Hernandez
1998: Brosius
1999: Rivera
2000: Jeter
2001: Johnson & Schilling
2002: Glaus
2003: Beckett
2004: Ramirez
2005: Dye
2006: Eckstein
2007: Lowell
2008: Hamels
2009: Matsui
2010: Rentería
2011: Freese
2012: Sandoval
2013: Ortiz
2014: Bumgarner
2015: Pérez
National League Championship Series MVP Award
1977: Baker
1978: Garvey
1980: Trillo
1981: Hooton
1983: Matthews
1989: Clark
1990: Dibble, Myers
1991: Avery
1992: Smoltz
1993: Schilling
1994: Not played
1995: Devereaux
1996: López
1997: Hernández
1998: Hitchcock
2000: Hampton
2001: Counsell
2002: Santiago
2003: Rodríguez
2004: Pujols
2005: Oswalt
2006: Suppan
2007: Holliday
2009: Howard
2010: Ross
2012: Scutaro
2013: Wacha
2015: Murphy
Milwaukee Brewers first-round draft picks
1969: G. Thomas
1971: Bianco
1972: D. Thomas
1973: Yount
1974: Edge
1975: O'Keefe
1976: Bordley
1982: Sveum
1983: Plesac
1985: Surhoff
1986: Sheffield
1987: Spiers
1988: Fernandez
1989: Eldred, Powell
1991: Henderson, Hill
1992: Felder, Martinez
1993: D'Amico, Wunsch, Dunn, Wagner
1994: Williamson
1995: Jenkins
1996: Green
1997: Peterson
1998: Gold
1999: Sheets
2000: Krynzel
2002: Fielder
2003: Weeks
2004: Rogers
2005: Braun
2006: Jeffress
2007: LaPorta
2008: Lawrie, Odorizzi, Frederickson
2009: Arnett, Davis, Heckathorn
2010: Covey
2011: Jungmann, Bradley
2012: Coulter, Roache, Haniger
2014: Medeiros
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Sportspeople from Joplin, Missouri
Baseball players from Missouri
Major League Baseball catchers
Kansas City Royals players
Milwaukee Brewers players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Texas Rangers players
American League All-Stars
Major League Baseball World Series Most Valuable Player award winners
People from the Kansas City metropolitan area
Major League Baseball announcers
Clinton Pirates players
Danville Warriors players
Evansville Triplets players
Louisville Redbirds players
American Christians
Cocaine-related deaths in the United States
Drug-related deaths in Missouri
National League Championship Series MVPs