Tune into a Mets broadcast on any given night and chances are good you’ll hear longtime analyst Ron Darling drop an R while telling a tale from his upbringing outside of Woostah.
While Darling, 64, is a legend of New York sports — both as a broadcaster and on the mound as a Mets hero during the team’s magical ’86 season — the star hasn’t lost touch with his Bay State roots. Ahead of calling the Mets-Red Sox series for SNY at Fenway Park this week, Darling told the Globe that he still considers himself as much of a New Englander as any Boston-synonymous celebrity.
“I’m a strange bird, right?” said Darling, who was born in Hawaii but grew up in Millbury. “I really feel like I’m as New England as Denis Leary and [Ben] Affleck and all the guys.”
“I’m so proud to come from there,” he added. “One of the reasons I became whatever I was as a ballplayer and whatever I am as a broadcaster is because of that inherent blue-collar mentality that I grew up with.”
Along with his three brothers, Darling was raised on the border of Worcester, “within earshot of Holy Cross,” he said, noting that his parents have lived in the same house since 1965. He fell in love with baseball as a kid; the “‘67 Red Sox were my team,” he explained, recalling how he’d watch Ken Coleman call Red Sox games on TV and listen to Curt Gowdy on the radio (Gowdy’s son, Curt Gowdy Jr., was Darling’s first boss at SNY).
Looking up to Boston greats like Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith, Jim Lonborg, and Tony Conigliaro, Darling honed his skills through Little League, American Legion, and St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury. And while he’d become a stud on the diamond, it wasn’t always easy as one of the only Asian American kids in the area.
“I had spent most of my childhood growing up around Irish and Italian Catholic kids,” said Darling, whose mom is Hawaiian and Chinese. “This happens in baseball as well: You’re either in or you’re out. And I always felt that when I grew up in Worcester, it would be easier to be in with the Irish, Italian Catholic environment than it would be to stand out.”
Darling started feeling connected to his Asian roots after his family became friendly with a Japanese family from the other side of town, often going to their home for barbecues. Sports would also kindle his interest in his Asian heritage, with Darling remembering how his family would stop what they were doing to watch Hawaii-born, Japanese American ballplayer Mike Lum whenever he pinch hit in a game.
Darling later found a community through an Asian American students association while attending Yale University, which he said had “such a huge influence” on him. As a pioneer on the field and, now, as one of the few Asian American broadcasters in the sport, Darling is happy that his story has inspired a new generation of baseball professionals.
“The happiest I ever become is when I’m on the road … and I meet the head of PR for the Dodgers or Steven Kwan for the Guardians or others, and they come up and say, ‘I just want you to know, thank you,’” Darling said.
“As I’ve gotten older, really the most important thing to me has become where I come from, who my ancestors are, what they did,” he added. “It really does take a village of family members to put you in your spot to have a chance. And I’ll never forget them.”
And while Darling would grow up to become a Gold Glove and All-Star pitcher — not to mention a World Series champion in 1986 (sorry, Red Sox fans) — he and his family still consider getting into Yale as his biggest achievement.
“I was the first person ever in the history of my family that ever went to college, so that’s why it was so important,” Darling said, noting how his mom would cry whenever he had to leave home for New Haven. “It reminded her that we had come all this way.”
In addition to his memorable moments on the mound, Darling has carved out quite the career as a broadcaster. This year marks Darling’s 20th season in the SNY booth with Gary Cohen and fellow former Mets star Keith Hernandez, colleagues he now considers as family. While he and his ’86 teammates were treated as kings in the Big Apple back in the day for their World Series heroics, today, Darling is more often noticed by younger fans for his insightful analysis while calling games for SNY, as well as on national broadcasts for TBS.
“I was introduced to a young man the other day, and he knew me as a broadcaster and asked me how did I get my expertise in baseball,” Darling said. “I was like, ‘Well, your dad will tell you.’”
Overall, Darling doesn’t really think much about his legacy. Instead, he’s focused on making the most of every day, and is grateful for the opportunities to live out his dreams.
“Only with wisdom and age do you get to a place where you have such gratitude to be on the earth today, and how to max out today, that I really honestly never think about legacy,” Darling said. “But if I were looking at my life as someone else looking on it, I would just hope I represent the people I come from with class and grace and hard work, and that’s really all that matters to me.”
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