Darren Daulton, the legendary Philadelphia Philly, passed on Sunday night. This came as a blow to fans of the Philadelphia Phillies, the world of baseball as a whole and to all those whose lives Darren “Dutch” Dalton had touched. Over the years, Dutch spent a significant time in North Eastern Pennsylvania, including our hometown of Carbondale. He was involved in golf tournaments and various charity events, some of which were very close to our hearts.
Daulton was known as a tough, gritty player. He was the guy you wanted to pretend to be when you were little. I can even remember my father, a die-hard yankees fan, talking about his respect for Dutch when I was little. As a Pennsylvania native, I always knew who Darren Daulton was and respected his play for the Phillies. But, as a Florida Marlins fan, I truly appreciated the World Series he brought us in 1997.
For all intents and purposes, I’m not a “Baseball Guy.” I just can’t set through anything but the occasional World Series when it’s on TV. For five years of college, I lived with the most serious Philadelphia baseball and he loved the ’93 Phillies. I’ve seen the documentary on that team more times than I wish to recount. I gained an appreciation for that team and the guys on it through that old VHS tape. In my mind, that team was full of REAL baseball guys, from a time when guys could unabashedly still be guys. That was the last golden age of baseball, when players would drink a 30 pack of beer in the dugout after a game and play the next day, when the difference between winning and losing a game actually mattered to individual players. A time when you were afraid your team captain, Dutch in some cases, might knock your block off if you didn’t perform to your highest standard.
Unfortunately, as strong as Dutch was, cancer took him from us this weekend. Daulton battled brain cancer for years and even established the Darren Daulton Foundation to assist families that are affected by brain cancer and tumors.
So, we salute you Darren Daulton. We know that you will be missed. We paid tribute to Dutch on our podcast last night. Feel free to give it a listen.