Mike Darr

Mike Darr
Outfielder
Born: March 21, 1976(1976-03-21) Corona, California
Died: February 15, 2002(2002-02-15) (aged 25) Peoria, Arizona
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 23, 1999 for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
October 7, 2001 for the San Diego Padres
Career statistics
Batting Average	.273
Home Runs	5
RBIs	67
Teams
San Diego Padres (1999-2001)

Michael Curtis Darr (March 21, 1976 in Corona, California – February 15, 2002 in Peoria, Arizona) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the San Diego Padres (1999–2001). His father, Mike Sr., pitched for the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. Brother Ryan played in the Detroit organization for many years before ending his baseball career. In 1995-96 Ryan was named CIF Co-MVP with Palo Verde Yellow Jackets star Tony Blythe (College of the Desert) out of the Southern California Section. Mike in the mean time continued to climb the ladder and landed a spot with San Diego Padres Triple -A team in Oregon and eventually made his way onto the starting roster as a Padre.

Darr was a promising young outfielder. The last season he played prior to his death, he appeared in 105 games for the San Diego Padres, compiling a .277 batting average with 2 home runs, 34 runs batted in, and 6 stolen bases.

The team Darr played for, the San Diego Padres, held their spring training camp every year at Peoria Stadium in Peoria, Arizona. It was in Arizona during spring training on February 15, 2002 that Darr was involved in a single car accident. Darr and friend Duane Johnson, who were not wearing safety belts, were killed. Minor league pitcher Ben Howard, who had his safety belt on, survived with only minor injuries. Darr was legally drunk at the time.

Nearly the entire San Diego Padres organization were among the more than 1,500 in attendance at Darr's funeral. Darr left behind a wife, Natalie, also a graduate of Corona Senior High School and two sons. The Padres wore a black circle patch with Darr's uniform number 26 on the right-sleeve of their uniform during the 2002 season.

See also

• List of second generation Major League Baseball players

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Frank Russo (March 06, 2002). "Mike Darr". Baseball player. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6240999. Retrieved July 01, 2011. 

Persondata
Name	Darr, Mike Curtis
Alternative names
Short description	Baseball player
Date of birth	March 21, 1976
Place of birth	Corona, California
Date of death	February 15, 2002
Place of death	Peoria, Arizona