Mike Darr | |
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![]() Portrait from the back of Darr's 2002 Topps card | |
Outfielder | |
Born: Corona, California, U.S. | March 21, 1976|
Died: February 15, 2002 Peoria, Arizona, U.S. | (aged 25)|
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 | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .273 |
Home runs | 5 |
Runs batted in | 67 |
Teams | |
Michael Curtis Darr (March 21, 1976 – February 15, 2002) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played from 1999 through 2001 for the San Diego Padres. He was the son of Mike Darr, Sr., who pitched in one game for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. Darr batted left-handed but threw right-handed.
Born and raised in Corona, California, Darr was a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers out of high school in 1994. Traded to the San Diego Padres before the 1997 season, he made his MLB debut with the team in 1999. After playing 58 games with the Padres in 2000, Darr was named the team's Opening Day right fielder in 2001, serving as the everyday player at that position until August.
During 2002 spring training, Darr and a passenger were killed in a single-car accident in Peoria, Arizona. Darr, the driver, had a blood alcohol content over the legal limit and was not wearing a seat belt. He was buried at the Crestlawn Memorial Park in Riverside, California; the Padres wore a black patch with the number 26 on it on their uniforms for the rest of the 2002 season in tribute.