Following a four-year battle with brain cancer, former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton passed away on Sunday at 55, the team announced.
"Darren was a true leader of men. The Phillies would not have gone to the 1993 World Series without his leadership," Phillies Chairman Emeritus Bill Giles said in a statement. "In addition to being an outstanding clubhouse leader, he was also a fighter. He battled through five knee operations to become an All-Star. I really enjoyed watching him for 14 years in uniform.
"Darren was a super human being. His teammates loved him, I loved him like he was one of my own. In fact, he called me 'Uncle Bill.'"
A member of the 1993 team that won the National League Championship Series, "Dutch" was a three-time All-Star who spent 14 seasons (1983-97) with the Phillies – and played 1109 of his 1162 career games in red pinstripes. He was inducted into the organization's Wall of Fame on Aug. 6, 2010, exactly seven years before his passing.
For his career, Daulton hit .245 with 137 home runs, 588 RBI and 511 runs scored.
In 2013, Daulton underwent surgery to remove a pair of brain tumors and two years later announced that he was cancer-free.
"All of us at the Phillies are saddened to hear of Darren's passing. From the day that we drafted him until today, he constantly earned our respect and admiration as both a player and person," Phillies Chairman David Montgomery said in a statement. "Darren was the face of our franchise in the early 1990's. Jim Fregosi asked so much of him as catcher, clean-up hitter and team leader. He responded to all three challenges.
"One of my toughest decisions as team president was to approve his trade to the Marlins in July of 1997. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Amanda, his parents, his brother and his four children. Dutch was truly "one of a kind" and we will dearly miss him."
But that trade to the Marlins allowed Daulton, who played just 52 games with the Fish in 1997, to get the World Series ring he fell just shy of in '93.
According to the Phillies, funeral services for Daulton will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Darren Daulton Foundation Foundation, 1339 Chestnut Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Finally, here's a great video tribute from CSNPhilly:
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