Darrell Evans Stats & Facts
Darrell Evans
Positions: Third Baseman and First Baseman
Bats: Left • Throws: Right
6-2, 200lb (188cm, 90kg)
Born: May 26, 1947 (Age: 73-259d) in Pasadena, CA
Draft: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round of the 1965 MLB June Amateur Draft from Muir HS (Altadena, CA), the New York Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1966 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase from Pasadena City College (Pasadena, CA), the Detroit Tigers in the 5th round of the 1966 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from Pasadena City College (Pasadena, CA), the Philadelphia Phillies in the 3rd round of the 1967 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase from Pasadena City College (Pasadena, CA) and the Kansas City Athletics in the 7th round of the 1967 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from Pasadena City College (Pasadena, CA).
High Schools: John Muir HS (Pasadena, CA), Muir HS (Altadena, CA)
School: Pasadena City College (Pasadena, CA)
Debut: April 20, 1969 (Age 21-329d, 10,423rd in MLB history)
vs. CIN 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 1, 1989 (Age 42-128d)
vs. LAD 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Darrell Wayne Evans
Nicknames: Howdy Doody
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Notable Events and Chronology for Darrell Evans Career
Intro
Historian Bill James called Darrell Evans “probably the most underrated player in baseball history.” Evans was the first player to hit 40 homers in both the National and American Leagues, and in 1985 he became the oldest man (38) to win a home run title. Also, in 1987, he became the first 40-year old to hit 40 homers in a season. Earlier in his career, he was a very good defensive third baseman for Atlanta and San Francisco, before joining Detroit, where he was primarily a first baseman and DH. He hit 414 career home runs: 131 for the Braves, 142 for the Giants and 141 for the Tigers.
Biography:
Evans was born in 1947 in Pasadena, California to Eleanor (née Salazar, 1923–2013) and Richard Evans, both of whom came from baseball families. His mother and her sister Margaret played professional fast pitch softball together for a national championship team in Southern California, and his aunt in particular was selected as an All-American outfielder. Evans attended his mother’s softball games as an infant and later served as the team’s bat boy. His father was a sheet metal mechanic who had played college baseball. Both of Evans’ parents had relatives in professional baseball. His maternal grandfather Dave Salazar was a pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization and played for the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League. His uncle Bob Evans had also played minor league ball in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization. Evans attended John Muir High School in Pasadena. He played baseball at Muir as a right-handed throwing pitcher and third baseman who batted left handed. In March 1965, he threw a no-hitter for Muir.
In the fall of 1965, Evans enrolled at Pasadena City College (PCC). As a freshman during the 1965–66 academic year, he was the leading scorer for PCC’s basketball team and led the baseball team with a .423 batting average. In December 1965, he scored 12 points in a losing effort against a UCLA team featuring Lew Alcindor. During the 1966–67 academic year, he hit .451 for the PCC baseball team and led both the baseball and basketball teams to California junior college championships. His basketball coach during the 1966–67 season was Jerry Tarkanian. Evans received the school’s athlete of the year award in 1967, and he was later inducted into the PCC Hall of Fame as “the ultimate in Pasadena City College legends.”
During the early 1970s, Evans was considered to be the premier third baseman behind Mike Schmidt in the National League. The first player to hit 40 homers in each league, he is the oldest player to win a home run title, hitting 40 with the Tigers at the age of 38 in 1985.
Evans credits Ted Williams’s book for teaching him how to hit; Eddie Mathews taught him how to pull. Originally drafted by the A’s in 1968, Evans began wearing contact lenses in 1971 and started hitting for power regularly. Hitting third in front of Hank Aaron, Evans saw plenty of good pitches and in 1973, was one of a record three Braves players to crack 40 homers: Aaron had 40, Evans 41, and Davey Johnson had 43. Even though he preceded Aaron in the lineup, he led the league in walks with 124, and again the following year with 126. He finished his career 10th all-time in walks. Evans was on first base when Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974. In June 1976, he was traded in a six-player deal to San Francisco. Although he was productive for seven years, Candlestick Park was not suited for his power. In 1983, Evans switched to first base. On June 15, he hit three homers in a game. After the season, he signed on as a free agent with the Tigers.
The Tigers got immediate dividends when Evans hit a three-run homer Opening Day to spark the Tigers to a 35-5 start as they coasted to the American League pennant and World Series championship, despite Evans’s 1-for-15 performance against the Padres. In 1985, he led the league in homers for the only time to begin the most productive power stretch of his career, hitting 29 homers in 1986 and 34 in 1987 at the age of 40. As a full-time DH in 1988, he managed 22 homers, but hit only .208, and was traded by the Tigers back to the Braves during the off-season. He saw considerable action in 1989 due to the demotion of third baseman Ron Gant and a season-ending injury to first baseman Gerald Perry, and continued to show good power while hitting for a low average.