Who the hell is Darnell McDonald?
Darnell was drafted by the Orioles in the first round of the 1998 amateur draft. He progressed slowly through the minors, struggling with his average but collecting stolen bases by the barrel. He bounced around a bit, finally earning a promotion to the big league squad in 2004, though he failed to show much promise in the show, hitting just .156 in 17 games with the O's.
Signed by the Indians, shipped to the Nationals, and later swapped to the Twins, he did get called up to play a few games in Minnesota when Michael Cuddyer was injured late in the season. In 2009, he actually made the Reds Opening Day roster, but it didn't last long, and he was soon sent back to the minors.
Fast forward to yesterday when Jacoby Ellsbury goes on the DL. The Sox purchased Darnell's contract from the Reds, and Darnell is instantly added to the major league roster. What happens next, you already know.
So a couple cups of coffee over the years, nothing permanent, but tonight he made what could turn out to be an incredible impact on the Red Sox season. The Sox were desperately in need for a win. They probably didn't deserve to win tonight. I haven't asked the Elias Sports Bureau, but I doubt many teams have won games in which they've allowed the opposing team to steal NINE BASES. The combination of Victor and Wakefield is disastrous for stolen base prevention, but enough about that, let's remain happy and optimistic in light of a great night at Fenway.
My man Joe Castiglione said it best on the radio tonight, and I'm paraphrasing here, but he said you just don't see that type of thing in other sports, where a guy you've never heard of gets a chance to be a hero like that. It reminds me why I love baseball so much.
Sometimes it takes a game like this to turn everything around. Go Sox.
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