Name: Ron Darling
Position: SNY/TBS baseball game analyst; MLB Network studio analyst
Age: 55
Where I’m from: Millbury, Mass.
Where I call home: N.Y.
Focusing on right now: Working and improving as a broadcaster while continuing to write. After my most recent book, "GAME 7, 1986: FAILURE AND TRIUMPH IN THE BIGGEST GAME OF MY LIFE," I have one more baseball book in me, and then I’ll do something fictional.
Best advice: [Baseball HOFer] TOM SEAVER, who was very nice to me when I first came to the Major Leagues, said, “If you’re an extremely talented individual -- and you are,” which made me feel great, “whenever you’re off, you’re off by an inch, not a mile.” Don’t ever think that you’ve got to just blow it up and start all over. If you’re a talented person you’re just a little bit off and you’ll find your way just through hard work.
Exec I admire most: SNY Senior VP & Exec Producer CURT GOWDY JR. really spoke my language and took me to another level as a broadcaster. Also, DAVID LEVY, who is the President of Turner Sports, from day one, and I probably didn’t even deserve it, but from day one he had the confidence in me to do anything for them.
Best book I’ve read this year: Because of the Presidential politics that we are going through right now, I just read DIANE GUERRERO, who happens to be an actress on “ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK,” and her book, “IN THE COUNTRY WE LOVE.” Her parents were deported when she was a child, and she was left alone in this country to fend for herself. We hear a lot of people lump people together, so this would be a great book for any person who wants to get the nomination to read.
First thing in the morning: I like to meditate for 15 minutes to a half hour just to get whatever I’ve got going on centered. I’ll then go to the MLB Network, which has Quick Pitch, which is all baseball, every single game, kind of the highlights, what happened in that game. From that, I just try to put a visual to what I already know the narrative is.
Talking tech: Eleven years ago, I never even looked at a phone or a computer during a broadcast. I just watched the game and talked about the game. Now, here I am, I have many devices plugged in, all hooked up to everything from Bleacher Report to Twitter to Snapchat to Instagram to whatever, to try to get any little piece. In a game that’s 3-2, I need less of that. But in an 11-2 game, any little small thing that I can get can become a topic of conversation for GARY COHEN, KEITH HERNANDEZ and I for an entire inning.
Must-have music: I’m a singer-songwriter kind of dude. Anyone who plays an instrument and writes their own songs, I’m on your side. It doesn’t matter if it’s from the ‘50s or current, although I do find I do have a tough time staying current unless I talk to one of my sons. NEIL YOUNG has probably been the person that, let’s just say, when I’m riding in the car and I go to my Pandora, Neil Young seems like the kind of music I enjoy in traffic.
Food for thought: I do cook a lot. Living in N.Y., you just fall in love with the Italian food and, unless I’m in Italy, I don’t eat Italian food anywhere else but N.Y. I also have found a greater fascinating with eating fish. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that my people -- and I come from a line of Chinese people, half of me anyway – fish seems to work very well for us.
How I unwind: Luckily, everyone around me -- my wife, my kids -- have really no interest in baseball. I never have to talk about it, which I think is the best way to be fresh about my job. I talk about their days, I want to know where they’re at. By them taking me into their worlds and what’s important to them, it’s a great escape for me. When I’m not doing what I get paid to do, I try to concentrate on how they’re excited about what they’re doing at that time.
Day in the life: The way the world works today, I literally could read every single minute of every single day about what I do and get some knowledge. By the time I get to the ballpark, a very big story has probably been picked apart a hundred different ways. I’m looking for way number 101. That’s really how I concentrate on whatever thing I have to do. I know that ESPN has talked about it and Fox has talked about and everyone has their own slant on it, but by the time I start my show, which is at night, I want to have a different take on it because that’s what interests me.
