Atlanta Braves Darrell Evans Interview (January 5, 1973)

Описание: Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is an American former baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternating between first and third base with the San Francisco Giants (1976–1983), and playing much of his later career as a first baseman and then a designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers (1984–1988). He won a World Series championship with the Tigers in 1984. Evans had most of his success in the early and late stages of his career. He was a two-time All-Star, first with the Braves in 1973 and then with the Giants in 1983. He led MLB in home runs in 1985 with the Tigers, and walks in 1973 and 1974 with the Braves.

Born in Pasadena, California, Evans was the son of a professional fast pitch softball player. He attended Pasadena City College and helped lead the baseball and basketball teams to California junior college championships. In the majors, Evans had a breakout season in 1973, finishing third in MLB with 41 home runs and leading the league in runs created and walks. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants in the middle of his lackluster 1976 season. His best season with the Giants was his 1983 All-Star season when he hit 30 home runs and compiled a .378 on-base percentage in his last year with the team. Evans signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1984 season, winning the World Series in his first year with the team. He led MLB in home runs with 40 in 1985 at age 38, becoming the oldest player in history to accomplish the feat.[1] By hitting his home runs in the American League, he also became the first in MLB history to have a 40-homer season in both the American and the National Leagues. Evans concluded his playing career with a return to the Braves in 1989.

Baseball historian Bill James rated Evans as "the most underrated player in baseball history."[2] He was the 22nd player in MLB history to hit 400 home runs and the second to hit at least 100 home runs with three different teams. His 1,605 walks ranked eighth in MLB history at the time of his retirement, and he drew 90 or more walks in eight separate seasons (reaching 100+ walks five times). His skill in drawing walks contributed to a .361 career on-base percentage despite a .248 career batting average. After retiring as a player, Evans served as a manager and coach in Minor League Baseball and independent leagues from 1990 to 2010. His career as a manager included stints with the Wilmington Blue Rocks and the Huntsville Stars in the minors.

Early years
Evans was born in 1947 in Pasadena, California, to Eleanor (née Salazar, 1923–2013) and Richard Evans, both of whom came from baseball families.[3] 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.[4][5] Evans attended his mother's softball games as an infant and later served as the team's bat boy.[6] His father was a sheet metal mechanic who had played college baseball.[4][5] 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.[5] His uncle Bob Evans had also played minor league ball in the St. Louis Cardinals' organization.

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.[10] In December 1965, he scored 12 points in a losing effort against a UCLA team featuring Lew Alcindor.[11] 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.[12][13] His basketball coach during the 1966–67 season was Jerry Tarkanian.[14] Evans received the school's athlete of the year award in 1967,[12] and he was later inducted into the PCC Hall of Fame as "the ultimate in Pasadena City College legends."[14]

Evans had four children. His oldest son was born during his first marriage. Then, Evans married Ladonna Martin-Evans and they had three children.[37] In 1984, Evans publicly revealed that, in the summer of 1982, he and his wife had seen an unidentified flying object from the porch of their home in Pleasanton, California. Evans described the UFO hovering over his neighbor's house as appearing "like a flying wing", triangular in shape with no wings and with green and red lights on the sides and white lights on the back.[70]

In the mid-2000s, Evans worked as a consultant for Netamin Corporation in the development of its Ultimate Baseball Online multiplayer online game.[71]