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 regularly in New York.
Boston hit right hand pitchers much better than lefties & 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 Boston hit four HRs & drove in 12 runs, being his most productive month.
1991: The Mets liked what they got from Boston & signed him for the 1991 season. In 1991 the Mets had their first losing season in eight years, falling to fifth place in a very dismal period.
on July 7th, he hit his first HR coming in an 8-2 win over the Phillies at Philadelphia. Daryl was batting just .235 at the end of July, but from August 13th to the end of the season, he batted .333 to finish at .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 usually came in losing Mets efforts, in all but one game.
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 newly formed Colorado Rockies, in their inaugural season, becoming an original Rockies Player.
There he hit a career high 14 HRs batting .261. In the strike shortened 1994 season, Daryl finished his career playing 52 games with the A.L. New York team, batting .182.
In the outfield he posted a .977 fielding % with 37 assists, making 38 errors in 1627 chances.
Retirement: After his playing days Daryl was first a roving instructor, coach & minor league manager within the Chicago White Sox organization.
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 Daryl 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 regularly in New York.
At the time, the Mets had been using Keith Miller, who was primarily an infielder in centerfield, along with other fill in players like Mark Carreon. So when Boston arrived, he became the team's main centerfielder playing alongside Daryl Strawberry & Kevin McReynolds in the outfield.
Boston hit right hand pitchers much better than lefties & saw action in 108 games vs righties as opposed to 48 games vs. left handers.On May 3rd, 1990, Daryl Boston debuted as a Met, going 0-2 playing centerfield & batting seventh in a 5-0 loss to the eventual World Champion Reds.
Muti- Three RBI Game: On May 7th in his fifth career Mets game, he collected three hits, with three RBIs including a two run HR off the Astros Xavier Hernandez in a 7-1 win over Houston at Shea Stadium.
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 collected a 9th inning walk off RBI single off the Padres Craig Lefferts scoring Howard Johnson for the 2-1 Mets win.
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In September Boston hit four HRs & drove in 12 runs, being his most productive month. Mult Three Hit- Four RBI Game: On September 22nd at Wrigley Field, Daryl had a big three hit game, season high four RBI game. It was highlighted by a three run HR off the Cubs Jose Nunez in an 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 three run HR off Kevin Gross in Montreal in a 6-0 Mets win. He closed out the year hitting safely in seven of his last nine games.
In the 1990 season that saw Davey Johnson get fired as manager & Bud Harrelson hired to lead the club, Boston batted .273 with 12 HRs 21 doubles 45 RBIs & 18 stolen bases. He played in 115 games for the second place Mets that won 91 games.
In the 1990 season that saw Davey Johnson get fired as manager & Bud Harrelson hired to lead the club, Boston batted .273 with 12 HRs 21 doubles 45 RBIs & 18 stolen bases. He played in 115 games for the second place Mets that won 91 games.
1991: The Mets liked what they got from Boston & signed him for the 1991 season. In 1991 the Mets had their first losing season in eight years, falling to fifth place in a very dismal period.His role was to back up the newly acquired Vince Coleman in centerfield. Coleman turned out to be an overall nightmare, not producing on the field & having his share of embarrassing personal issues including throwing firecrackers at fans. Between his injuries & suspensions the troubled Colman 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.
In September he had seven multi-hit games & also swiped five bases.
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, Daryl hit a grand slam HR 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 the only five RBI Day of his career.
Grand Slam & Five RBI Day: The next day, on September 24th, Daryl hit a grand slam HR 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 the only five RBI Day of his career.
Boston ended the year batting .275 with 70 hits 16 doubles 4 triples 4 HRs 21 RBIs & 40 runs scored. He posted a .350 on base % & .765 OPS in 137 games (255 at bats). He played 115 games in the outfield (74 in center) making three errors with a .981 fielding % & two assists.
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.
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 as 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 April 29th, his 2nd inning RBI single led the Mets to a 1-0 win over Houston behind Bret Saberhagen's three hit shutout. On May 1st he broke a 7-7 tie in Atlanta with a solo HR off Juan Berenguer leading to an 8-7 win.
On June 29th, Boston had a three-hit game with a HR in a loss at St. Louis.
In August he hit a month's best, five HRs unfortunately they usually came in losing Mets efforts, in all but one game. Pinch Hit HR: On August 12th at Shea Stadium, he came in as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning down 6-3 to the Pirates. Boston tied the game with a three run HR off Bob Walk. But the Mets went on to lose the game in extra innings.
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.
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. In the strike shortened 1994 season, Daryl finished his career playing 52 games with the A.L. New York team, batting .182.
MLB Career: In an eleven-year career, Boston batted .249 with 655 hits 131 doubles 22 triples 83 HRs & 278 RBIs. Boston stole 98 stolen bases in 148 attempts. He struck out 4469 times, walked 237 times, posting a .312 on base% & .722 OPS while playing in 1058 games.
Retirement: After his playing days Daryl 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 2023 season.
Family: Daryl is married to his wife Sherrilyn. Their son Dash Boston is a high school basketball player.
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