MLB History Darrell Evans (#17)
“No better feeling (hitting a home run) in the whole world. It is what you live for. Sometimes it is what you die for. You put one up there and it makes you feel young again.”—Darrell Evans
Darrell Evans was a man ahead of his time. When he played, batting average was king. Evans didn’t hit for a high average. His career mark is .248. Most people involved with baseball these days know that on-base percentage and slugging percentage are much better measures of the caliber of hitter than batting average. Evans was good at getting on base and had some pop in his bat.
Evans was drafted four different times as an amateur, but did not sign with any of those teams. He finally signed with the Kansas City Athletics after being drafted in the seventh round of the 1967 June Secondary draft. In December of 1968, the Atlanta Braves shrewdly claimed Evans off the Athletics roster in the rule 5 draft.
It took three years before Evans received significant playing time with the Braves and another two years before he would be a full-time player. That season, 1973, he made the NL all-star team and led the league with 124 walks. He also launched 41 home runs, scored 114 runs, and had 104 RBI. It was a 9 WAR season and easily the best of his career. He was third in the NL in WAR (Baseball-Reference), but finished 18th in NL MVP voting.
He followed that up with a 7.2 WAR season in which he again led the NL in walks, this time with 126. Then he walked 105 times in 1975, making it three 100-walk seasons in a row. He would have five such seasons in his career.
In 1976, Evans got off to a slow start and was traded to the San Francisco Giants in mid-June. He spent seven-and-a-half years with the Giants, regularly putting up .360 OBP seasons with 15-20 home runs and solid defense.
In December of 1983, Evans signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers. When the Tigers had their amazing 1984 season that ended in a World Series title, Evans was one of the few players on the team who didn’t have a great year. He still got on base (.353 OBP) but didn’t hit for much power (.384 SLG).
Despite being 38 years old heading into the 1985 season, Evans wasn’t done yet. He had a bounce back season when he led the AL in home runs while hitting .248/.356/.519. This year he became the first player to hit 40 homers in both leagues and the oldest player to lead the AL in dingers.
Evans had two more above average seasons before his career wound down with two subpar seasons in his early 40s. He retired with 1605 career walks, 12th all-time. His total of 3828 hits plus walks is 56th all-time.