Ron Darling’s Tell All Journey Through The 86 Mets

Most baseballfans know a lot about the 1986 World Series Champion New York Mets. They were a baseball team that looked more like a gang of rock stars off the field. Ron Darling’s,“108 stitches, Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game”, takes you behind the scenes of that team and some of its most infamous characters.

Ron Darling teamed up with journalist/author, Daniel Paisner to deliver his third book about his time in Major League Baseball. This book comes after his New York Times best-seller, “Game 7, 1986: Failure and Triumph in the Biggest Game of My Life”, in 2016. But this book took a dive into a lot of hilarious and sometimes dark stories that went on around him.

The book initially made waves before it even hit the shelves. This is all because known nut-job Lenny Dykstra is disputing one of the dark turns of the book based on his actions. Darling claimed Dykstra was screaming inhumane racist remarks at an opposing African American pitcher from the dugout, and Dykstra has denied this story multiple times. There are still legal threats being thrown back and forth through the headlines of the New York Post.This is just one of the examples of the craziness going on within the pages of this book.

Darling does an excellent job flowing through stories all connected to him. The stories range from his playing days to his current day role as a color commentator for the Mets. It includes stories about pranksters and even teammates that suffered from substance abuse. There are even a few laughs in the book about the beloved Mets commentator trio of Darling, Keith Hernandez and, Gary Cohen.

The book will have your eyes glued to the pages while learning about all of the characters Darling encountered throughout his professional career. The positive outweighs the negative, but there is a fair share of sad stories included. Darling wrote this book just how he broadcasts games, he spoke his mind freely. There was no holding back when there was an occurrence that did not sit right with him. Darling expressed his displeasure in stories other than the Dykstra one, like when he talks about the “waste of talent” in Doc Gooden or the antics of Daryl Strawberry.

The stories and journeys during Darling’scareer are what makes this book great, but there are some dry parts as well. When the book nears the end, it starts to talk about Darling as a broadcaster. Rather than this part of the book being filled with stories with his broadcasting partners, it’s more like an old man yelling at the clouds. It is filled with Darling’s traditional approach to baseball and his displeasure with the current state of the game. It felt way out of place and just did not fit. It’s also just not a popular opinion in my eyes. Like every sport, time changes it. The changes in baseball may stray away from the tradition of the game, but it is making the game more exciting.

Overall, the book was a great behind-the-scenes look at one of the most famous teams in MLB history. The stories have a neat way of reflecting onto Darling throughout the book. It takes you through his journey through his eyes and how he felt about the things he saw. You can read the book just to hear stories, or you can read the book to understand how these stories made an effect on the broadcaster Ron Darling is today.