New York Mets: Amazins need to remove Darling from booth after tell-all

The New York Mets have a problem they don’t need. No one ever needs a problem, but this one can be corrected. Unfortunately, in doing so, it will make all those involved look very bad.

Former New York Mets pitcher and current broadcaster Ron Darling has released a tell-all book, “108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game.” In it, Darling rips several of his former teammates and others.

It’s easy to figure out why he put his book out now. Darling’s media presence will never be as high as it is at this moment. He’s an analyst on SNY’s television coverage of the Mets along with Keith Hernandez and play-by-play man Gary Cohen. He also works as an analyst on TBS national baseball telecasts as well as doing some studio work for MLB Network.

There have been tell-all books before. Jim Bouton was the one who started the genre when he wrote “Ball Four” in 1970. Darling’s Book isn’t even the first one that exposes the 1986 World Champion Mets misdeeds. Jeff Pearlman’s “The Bad Guys Won” released in 2011, blew the lid off a team that was revered by so many.

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After the initial shock wore off and reality set in New York Mets fans realized their heroes were, in fact, human beings. They were human beings with a ton of dirty laundry. Again nothing new in sports, but the extent of what went on was disheartening.

Now Darling is ripping the bandage off the wound. Just like similar books, it breaks the unwritten rule of “what happens behind closed clubhouse doors, stays there.” Needless to say, his former teammates are not happy with him. Some have even publicly said situations Darling wrote about are outright lies.

Whether or not what Darling wrote is true, isn’t necessarily what should concern the Mets. From the team’s standpoint, there are two huge issues. First, he is employed by the New York Mets and he makes the organization look bad, even if it happened years ago. Fred Wilpon still owns the club, the same as he did back then. Darling in effect bit the hand that feeds him.

The second problem directly impacts his job. Local broadcasters are not “neutral journalists.” They are there to support the team. It doesn’t mean they have to lie or that they can’t disagree, but they can’t trash their team either. Additionally, why would any current player want Darling anywhere near them? He just proved he can’t be trusted with sensitive information.

Further, he and Hernandez were teammates and now share the booth. Truth issue aside, the former Mets first baseman can’t be happy with Darling. He is a traditionalist and to him what Darling probably doesn’t sit well. The book may well affect their dynamic.

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Ron Darling is a fantastic color man for the Mets. His insights and analysis are top-shelf. What this book does is damage the relationships that make him so good at what he does.

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