Darrin Alexander Winston (July 6, 1966 – August 15, 2008) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 played parts of two seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), both for the Philadelphia Phillies, and also played in the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

and Pittsburgh Pirates minor league organizations. He batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

during his

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 t ...

career, and was listed at 6' 0" in height and . in weight. Winston had six children and one grandchild. Winston was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He lived in Edison, where he attended Bishop George Ahr High School, and moved to Millstone Township in the late 1990s.

Baseball career

He attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

where he participated in

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

. He holds Rutgers career records for victories (26), innings pitched (278) and complete games (22). He was inducted into the Rutgers University Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1987, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. On June 1, 1988, Winston was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the 1988 MLB draft, and he signed with them on June 7 of that season. On October 15, 1994, Winston was granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. On December 8, 1994, he signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was again granted free agency on October 15, 1995. On December 20, 1996, Winston signed as a free agent with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He was then released by the Mets on March 31, 1997, before playing a game in their organization. On April 7, 1997, he was signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies. Winston made his MLB debut on September 10, 1997, with the Philadelphia Phillies. On the day of his MLB debut, the Phillies were playing against the New York Mets at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

, with 13,257 people attending the game. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Winston was called upon to replace

Ken Ryan Kenneth Frederick Ryan, Jr. (born October 24, 1968), is an American former baseball pitcher. He played eight seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. Professional career After graduating in 1986 from S ...

, for whom Kevin Sefcik had pinch-hit in the top of the inning. He pitched one inning,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

one batter, allowing four

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s, three

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

s, and two bases on balls. The Phillies lost to the Mets, 10–2. He played his last major league game on June 25, 1998. After the season, he was not offered a contract, and became a free agent on October 15, 1998. He signed with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

on November 18, 1998, but he never played in professional baseball after that.

Death

Winston died in

Freehold Township, New Jersey Freehold Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional commercial hub for Central Jersey, Central New Jersey (home to the Freehold ...

, on August 15, 2008, two days after being diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. He died after an exploratory laparotomy to obtain a lymph node and liver biopsy. Winston had a very low white and red blood cell count. He ruptured his spleen, did not have enough cells to fight it, and died at 3:28 a.m.

References

External links

Baseball AlmanacBaseball ProspectusCareer statistics and player information
from Korea Baseball Organization {{DEFAULTSORT:Winston, Darrin 1966 births 2008 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Baseball players from New Jersey St. Thomas Aquinas High School (New Jersey) alumni Calgary Cannons players Deaths from leukemia in New Jersey Harrisburg Senators players Hanwha Eagles players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Jamestown Expos players KBO League pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Ottawa Lynx players People from Edison, New Jersey People from Millstone Township, New Jersey Philadelphia Phillies players Rockford Expos players Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey West Palm Beach Expos players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players