Darrell Preston Jackson (born April 3, 1956) is a former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He pitched all or parts of five seasons in the majors, from until , all with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Career

Jackson was drafted by the Twins out of high school in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, but he did not sign with them. Instead, he played college baseball at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, where he played in the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

in each of his last three seasons there. In , he was drafted by the Twins in the 9th round of the amateur draft. He made his professional debut in 1978 for the

Orlando Twins Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

of the Southern League, and in his very first start he threw nine innings of no-hit ball against the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

. Unfortunately, the game was tied after nine innings, and Jackson was relieved by fellow future Twin

Jeff Holly Jeffrey Owen Holly (born March 1, 1953- February 28, 2019) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played parts of three seasons in the Major League Baseball from until , all for the Minnesota Twins. After the 1979 season he was traded t ...

. Orlando won the game, 1–0, in 12 innings. After just 10 starts in the minors, Jackson was called up to the Twins in June. In 19 games, Jackson went 4–6 with a 4.48 ERA. He did record one

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in 1978, on July 7 against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. Jackson split between the Twins and their Triple-A farm club, the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. In the majors, he pitched in 24 games (including 8 starts), going 4–4 with a 4.28 ERA. was Jackson's first (and, as it turned out, only) full season in the majors. He set career bests in wins (9), ERA (3.87), and strikeouts (90). On June 21, 1980, Jackson recorded his one and only save at the MLB level. He retired the last batter of the game to preserve a 3-2 victory over the Twins. Jackson spent most of on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, appearing in just 14 games in the majors and 2 at Triple-A. In , the bottom fell out of Jackson's performance, as he went 0–5 and his ERA jumped to a career-worst 6.25. Things were no better in the minors, as he went 1–3 with an even worse ERA of 7.00 in 4 starts. On July 26, the Twins released Jackson, and he never again pitched in organized baseball. Jackson currently runs the 1020 Club, Inc. A nonprofit organization that helps at-risk youth.

References

http://1020clubinc.org

External links

Baseball GaugeVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Darrell 1956 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Los Angeles Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Orlando Twins players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Toledo Mud Hens players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople