Ron Darling

Ronald Maurice Darling Jr. (born August 19, 1960) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from 1983 to 1995, including as a member of the New York Mets team that won the 1986 World Series. Since 2006, he has been the co-lead color commentator for Mets broadcasts on SNY alongside former teammate Keith Hernandez.

Darling was a 1985 National League All-Star and won the 1989 Gold Glove Award for National League pitchers. He ranks fourth in Mets team history in wins (99) and is also in the top 10 in complete games, innings, strikeouts and shutouts. During the 1986 World Series, Darling allowed just three earned runs in 17+2⁄3 innings and won Game 4 in Boston to even the series. In 2020, Darling was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame.

Darling had five pitches in his repertoire: the slider, a curveball, a circle changeup, a splitter, and a four seam fastball. In the beginning of his career, Darling's weak point was control, and he finished three seasons in the top four in base on balls; as his career progressed, his control improved considerably. He was considered one of the better fielding pitchers of the time and had one of the best pickoff moves among right-handed pitchers. An above-average athlete, he was sometimes used as a pinch runner and, in 1989, he hit home runs in two consecutive starts. Apart from his career with the Mets, Darling also played for the Montreal Expos and the Oakland Athletics.

Darling is a color commentator for nationwide baseball coverage on TBS, as well as for the Mets on both SNY and WPIX; he also co-hosts several MLB Network programs. In September 2022, he pre-recorded announcements for MTA NYCT's 7 line, along with Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen.