Daryl Boston: Early 1990's Mets Outfielder (1990 - 1992)
He also had two brothers, a twin who played minor league ball & another who played Independent League baseball for 16 years.
Daryl Boston grew up a fan of the Cincinnati Reds, Big Red Machine.
He was sent back to the minors in July, but did return as
a September call up. Overall that year, he batted .169 in 83 at bats.
Boston would spend most of the next three seasons jumping between the major & the minor leagues. He never reached the expectations the White Sox organization had for him. By 1986, he had first lost out his centerfield job to John Cangelosi.
Record HR: On October 4th, he made the record books, hitting a HR off Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven, it was the 50th HR, Blyleven gave up that season, setting an MLB record.
Mets Career: The New York Mets picked him up and he enjoyed his best seasons getting a chance to play in New York.
He hit right hand pitchers much better & saw action in 108 games vs righties as opposed to 48 games vs. left handers.
Boston hit well enough to bring his average up over the .300-mark in July, hitting safely in 12 of 16 games. In August he hit just one HR, it came in a 5-4 win over the Cardinals.
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In September he hit 4 HRs & drove in 12 runs, his most productive month as he played in 23 games.
1991: The Mets liked what they got from him & signed him for 1991. His role was to back up the newly acquired Vince Coleman in centerfield. Coleman was an overall nightmare, not producing on the field & having his share of personal issues including throwing firecrackers at fans.
He hit his first HR on July 7th, in a 8-2 win against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was batting just .234 at the end of July, but hit well enough in the final two months, to finish at a respectable .275.
The Mets now had a new manager in Jeff Torborg. Boston began the year with a pinch-hit appearance on Opening Day going hitless.
He homered in a 7-2 win over the Phillies on April 15th.
In August he hit a month's best, five HRs unfortunately they came in losing Mets efforts, in all but one game. On August 28th Boston helped tie up a game against the Reds with a solo shot off Scott Bankhead. New York went on to a 4-3 win.
That year the Mets fell to a dismal fifth place, winning just 72 games. He finished the year with 11 HRs 14 doubles 35 RBIs 12 stolen bases & a .338 on base %, playing in 130 games with just 289 at bats. It was a solid power improvement over the past but as the average fell the Mets were not too impressed. The Mets released him after the season.
Mets Career Stats: After three seasons with the Mets, Boston hit .266 with 242 hits 51 doubles 8 triples 27 HRs 101 RBIs 96 walks 45 stolen bases& a .338 on base % in 382 games (910 at bats).
Post Mets Career: In 1993 he went to the Colorado Rockies, in their inaugural season, becoming an original Rockie.
There he hit a career high 14 HRs batting .261. He finished his career in the strike shortened 1994 season, playing 52 games with the A.L. New York team, batting .182 in 52 games.
In the outfield he posted a .977 fielding % with 37 assists, making 38 errors in 1627 chances.
Retirement: After his playing days he was first a roving instructor, coach & minor league manager within the Chicago White Sox organization.
In 2013 he was named the Whie Sox first base coach under Robin Ventura. He stayed there through the 2020 season.
The speedy outfielder Daryl was a first-round draft pick, out of high school for the Chicago White Sox (7th pick overall) in 1981.
By 1983, he was stealing bases & hitting for power, with 20 HRs & 20 steals between AA & AAA ball. In 1984 at AAA Denver, he hit .312 with 19 triples & 40 stolen bases.
MLB Career: In 1984, Boston was called up to the White Sox, in May making his MLB debut, in a game against the Texas Rangers. He drove in two runs with a triple, had three hits overall & stole a base while scoring two runs.
By 1983, he was stealing bases & hitting for power, with 20 HRs & 20 steals between AA & AAA ball. In 1984 at AAA Denver, he hit .312 with 19 triples & 40 stolen bases.
MLB Career: In 1984, Boston was called up to the White Sox, in May making his MLB debut, in a game against the Texas Rangers. He drove in two runs with a triple, had three hits overall & stole a base while scoring two runs.
a September call up. Overall that year, he batted .169 in 83 at bats.
Boston would spend most of the next three seasons jumping between the major & the minor leagues. He never reached the expectations the White Sox organization had for him. By 1986, he had first lost out his centerfield job to John Cangelosi.
Eventually Cangelosi moved over to left field, as the Sox traded away a young Bobby Bonilla & Boston got the centerfield job. That year Boston hit .266 with 5 HRs & 22 RBIs in 56 games played.
In 1987 he was up in the majors for good, hitting .258 with 10 HRs & 12 stolen bases while playing 103 games. He posted a .991 fielding % making just two errors in 212 chances.
The next year 1988, he hit career highs 15 HRs with 31 RBIs & 9 stolen bases, but his average plummeted to .217. After playing parts of six seasons on the South side of Chicago, the White Sox placed him on waivers in April of 1990.
Mets Career: The New York Mets picked him up and he enjoyed his best seasons getting a chance to play in New York.
The Mets had been using Keith Miller, who was an infielder in centerfield as well as fill ins from Mark Carreon. So when Boston arrived, he became the team's main centerfielder. playing alongside Daryl Strawberry & Kevin McReynolds.
He hit right hand pitchers much better & saw action in 108 games vs righties as opposed to 48 games vs. left handers.Daryl Boston debuted as a Met on May 3rd, 1990, where he went 0-2 playing centerfield & batting seventh in the lineup.
On May 7th in his fifth Mets game, he had three hits with a HR & three RBIs in a 7-1 win at Shea over the Houston Astros. On May 21st he hit a two run HR off the Dodgers Mike Morgan in a 12-3 Mets win.
In mid-June he had three straight multi-RBI games, with nine hits in a four-game series at Wrigley Field. In those games the Mets scored at least nine runs or more each time winning three of four in the set, against the Cubs.
Boston hit well enough to bring his average up over the .300-mark in July, hitting safely in 12 of 16 games. In August he hit just one HR, it came in a 5-4 win over the Cardinals.
Walk Off Hit: On August 29th, Boston hit a walk off single off the Padres Craig Lefferts bringing home Howard Johnson for the 2-1 Mets win behind Bobby Ojeda.
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In September he hit 4 HRs & drove in 12 runs, his most productive month as he played in 23 games. On September 22nd he had a big three hit day at Wrigley Field, topped off with a three run HR off the Cubs Jose Nunez in a 11-5 Mets win.
The next day he added a two-run shot off Dave Palas for his 11th HR of the year, helping New York to a 7-3 win over the Cubs.
Before the year was out, he added another HR in Montreal and brought his average up with a good hitting streak in the final week of the season.
Boston batted .273 with 12 HRs 21 doubles 45 RBIs & 18 stolen bases playing in 115 games for the second place Mets who won 91 games. That year Davey Johnson had been fired & Bud Harrelson was hired to lead the club.
Boston batted .273 with 12 HRs 21 doubles 45 RBIs & 18 stolen bases playing in 115 games for the second place Mets who won 91 games. That year Davey Johnson had been fired & Bud Harrelson was hired to lead the club.
1991: The Mets liked what they got from him & signed him for 1991. His role was to back up the newly acquired Vince Coleman in centerfield. Coleman was an overall nightmare, not producing on the field & having his share of personal issues including throwing firecrackers at fans. Between his injuries & suspensions he would only play in 72 games, giving more playing time to Boston.
Boston struggled at the start, as it took him until June to get over the .200 batting mark. On June 8th, he singled in the top of the 9th inning against the Astros in Houston, driving in Gary Templeton with the games tying run. The Mets went on to win it with a Howard Johnson 11th inning HR.
On September 22nd, he hit a HR off the Cardinals Ken Hill in a 2-1 Mets loss.
Grand Slam & Five RBI Day: The next day, on September 24th he hit a grand slam off the Pirates Bob Walk. It came at Shea Stadium in a 10-8 Mets. It was just his third HR of the year. Boston had also singled in the 4th inning to drive in a run, giving him his only five RBI Day of his career.
Grand Slam & Five RBI Day: The next day, on September 24th he hit a grand slam off the Pirates Bob Walk. It came at Shea Stadium in a 10-8 Mets. It was just his third HR of the year. Boston had also singled in the 4th inning to drive in a run, giving him his only five RBI Day of his career.
Boston ended the year batting .275 with 70 hits 16 doubles 4 triples 4 HRs 21 RBIs & a .350 on base % in 137 games (255 at bats).
1992- Drama: In Spring Training 1992 Boston was involved in a rape scandal along with teammates Dwight Gooden & Vince Coleman. The woman involved had dated David Cone. After six weeks of investigations & scandals in the media, the charges were eventually later dropped.
Coleman was released in August after he threw an M-80 out a car window at Dodger Stadium, injuring fans including a two-year-old girl.
Boston got more playing time alongside a terrible defensive outfield that included Howard Johnson & another loser in Bobby Bonilla.
The Mets now had a new manager in Jeff Torborg. Boston began the year with a pinch-hit appearance on Opening Day going hitless. He homered in a 7-2 win over the Phillies on April 15th.
Walk OFF Hit By Pitch: On April 23rd the Mets & Cardinals were locked up in a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 13th inning. Boston came to bat with the bases loaded, Dave Magadan & Junior Noboa had both singled. Then Charlie O'Brien was intentionally walked.
Boston was hit by a pitch from Juan Agosto scoring pinch runner Rodney McCray with the game winning run.
On May 7th in Atlanta, his HR Juan Berenguer broke a 7-7 tie & proved to be the games winning run.
On May 7th in Atlanta, his HR Juan Berenguer broke a 7-7 tie & proved to be the games winning run.
Throughout the year he didn't show much power or drive in many runs.
That year the Mets fell to a dismal fifth place, winning just 72 games. He finished the year with 11 HRs 14 doubles 35 RBIs 12 stolen bases & a .338 on base %, playing in 130 games with just 289 at bats. It was a solid power improvement over the past but as the average fell the Mets were not too impressed. The Mets released him after the season.
Mets Career Stats: After three seasons with the Mets, Boston hit .266 with 242 hits 51 doubles 8 triples 27 HRs 101 RBIs 96 walks 45 stolen bases& a .338 on base % in 382 games (910 at bats).
There he hit a career high 14 HRs batting .261. He finished his career in the strike shortened 1994 season, playing 52 games with the A.L. New York team, batting .182 in 52 games.
MLB Career: In an eleven-year career, Boston batted .249
with 655 hits 131 doubles 22 triples 83 HRs & 278 RBIs. He stole 98 stolen bases walked 237 times with a .312 on base%. He struck out 469 times while playing in 1058 games.In the outfield he posted a .977 fielding % with 37 assists, making 38 errors in 1627 chances.
Retirement: After his playing days he was first a roving instructor, coach & minor league manager within the Chicago White Sox organization.
Family: Daryl is married to his wife Sherrilyn. Their son Dash is a high school basketball player.
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