I have spent a significant portion of my adult working life conversing with a man who remembers about 98 percent of the players who have made it to MLB rosters from 1990 to today, so I feel qualified to say that the man who relinquished his glove today was The Quintessential Guy.
Every single aspect of Darren O'Day's 15-year career as an MLB set-up man made him easily familiar yet difficult to associate with any particular moment or memory. His name is alliterative and Irish-sounding (though it actually originated as "Odachowski"). His six MLB stops were weighted heavily toward big cities and big fanbases. He played in at least 68 games, and often exactly 68 games, in all but one season from 2009 to 2015, but he was almost never used as a closer. He played a part in six postseasons, though he never won a World Series. He made exactly one All-Star Game, when he was on an 81-81 Orioles squad. And his delivery made you worry his arm would snap off on the next pitch.
With over 600 MLB innings, 637 strikeouts, a 2.59 ERA, a 42-21 record, and a 17.4 bWAR, Darren O'Day had a better career than almost anyone ever signed to play pro baseball. And yet, because the distance between him and the game's true greats is still a magnificent yawning chasm, he is forever a Guy, and we remember him as such.
While a couple of very cool running backs and my all-time favorite hockey player also bear the name "Darren," several other sports Darrens have preceded O'Day into Guy status. In his honor, we remember them, too.
- Darren Langdon
- Darren Veitch
- Darren Turcotte
- Darren Bent
- Darren Perry
- Darren Howard
- Darren Carrington
- Darren Bennett
- Darren Collison
- Darren Holmes
- Darren Dreifort
- Darren Oliver
Who are some other Darrens you remember?
