Darrell Porter
Encyclopedia
Darrell Ray Porter was a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

. He played in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

, Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

 and the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

. He was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting. He was also known for being one of the first American professional athletes to publicly admit he had a problem with substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...

.

Playing career

Born in Joplin, Missouri
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...

, Porter was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 in the first round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft
1970 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The regular and secondary phases of the January draft proved more fruitful to major league clubs than the June draft...

. He made his debut on September 2, 1971
1971 Milwaukee Brewers season
The Milwaukee Brewers season involved the Brewers' finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 69 wins and 92 losses.- Offseason :...

 with the Brewers at age 19. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. Porter was selected to the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 team in 1974
1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 45th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 23, 1974, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

, but had his best years after he was traded in 1976
1976 Kansas City Royals season
The 1976 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing first in the American League West with a record of 90 wins and 72 losses...

 to the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

, where he was selected to the All-Star team four times. In 1979
1979 Kansas City Royals season
The 1979 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing second in the American League West with a record of 85 wins and 77 losses.- Offseason :...

, Porter became only the sixth catcher in Major League history to score 100 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

 and have 100 runs batted in. The feat had previously been accomplished by Mickey Cochrane
Mickey Cochrane
Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...

, Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...

, Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...

, Johnny Bench
Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...

 and Carlton Fisk
Carlton Fisk
Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...

, all in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Only Porter and Cochrane had 100 walks, runs and RBI in a single season. He became a fan favorite for his intensity; teammate George Brett
George Brett (baseball)
George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...

 once said of Porter, "Darrell always played like it was the seventh game of the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

."

Drug problems

Porter told the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 that during the winter of 1979-1980, he became paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...

, convinced that baseball commissioner
Baseball Commissioner
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...

 Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...

, 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
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 pitcher Don Newcombe
Don Newcombe
Donald Newcombe , nicknamed "Newk", is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians .Until 2011 when Detroit Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander did it, Newcombe was the only baseball...

 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
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

, cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

, Quaaludes
Methaqualone
Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan...

, and marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...

.

Later career

After checking in to the rehab center, Porter became a born-again Christian, married, and became a spokesman for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization founded in 1954 and that has been based in Kansas City, Missouri since 1956. It falls within the tradition of Muscular Christianity. Although established by evangelical Protestants, the concept has...

; but his production on the field declined, never again approaching his 1979 levels. He went on to play in three World Series, in 1980
1980 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 14, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Royals jumped on Philly rookie starter Bob Walk early with a pair of two run bombs—one by Amos Otis in the second and another by Willie Aikens in the third...

 with the Royals and in 1982
1982 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 12, 1982 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriThe Brewers' left-hander Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits. The Brewers' offense was led by Paul Molitor, who had a World Series-record five hits and two RBIs...

 and 1985
1985 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 19, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri-Game 2:Sunday, October 20, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri...

 with the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

, winning the 1982
1982 National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series was played between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves from October 6 to October 10.-Background:...

 League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award
League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award
The second round of the Major League Baseball post-season is known as the League Championship Series . This series has a best-of-seven playoff format, and currently follows the Division Series, in which the three division champions and one wild card team from each league play against each other...

 and the World Series MVP Award
World Series MVP Award
The World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...

 in 1982
1982 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals' 1982 season was the team's 101st season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 91st season in the National League. Making up for the previous year's near-miss, the Cardinals went 92-70 during the season and won their first-ever National League East Division title by three games...

. After the 1985
1985 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals' 1985 season was the team's 104th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 94th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 101-61 during the season and finished in first place in the National League East division by three games over the New York Mets...

 season, the Cardinals released him, and he wound up his career with two seasons with the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

 as a part-time player.

Over 17 major league seasons, Porter had a career batting average of .247 with 188 home runs, 826 RBIs and a .982 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...

. As of the 2009 season, he ranked 21st on the all-time list for home runs by a catcher, and 20th for RBIs by a catcher. Porter caught two no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...

s during his career (Jim Colborn
Jim Colborn
James William Colborn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-handed Colborn pitched for the Chicago Cubs , Milwaukee Brewers , Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners ....

 in 1977
1977 Kansas City Royals season
The 1977 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing first in the American League West with a record of 102 wins and 60 losses...

, Bob Forsch
Bob Forsch
Robert Herbert Forsch was an American right-handed starting pitcher who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals before finishing his playing career with the Houston Astros...

's second career no-hitter in 1983
1983 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 1983 season was a season in American baseball. It was the team's 102nd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 92nd season in the National League...

). 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, 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
1984 in literature
The year 1984 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The book Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is widely read....

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

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
Sugar Creek, Missouri
Sugar Creek is a city in Clay and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 3,839 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sugar Creek is located at ....

, outside his vehicle that evening. 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
Excited delirium
Excited delirium is a condition that manifests as a combination of delirium, psychomotor agitation, anxiety, hallucinations, speech disturbances, disorientation, violent and bizarre behavior, insensitivity to pain, elevated body temperature, and superhuman strength...

 that caused his heart to stop.

External links

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