The End Of The Darren Clarke Saga

What once promised to go out with a bang, trickled out with a whimper. I'm left with more questions than answers. A little part of me is sad to come to that conclusion.

Truthfully, I had forgotten all about my bizarre encounter with Darren Clarke. Silence has a tendency to do that. I haven't heard any more developments in well over a year. No word from Topps. No word from Mr. Clarke, himself.

For some odd reason, Darren Clarke's name popped into my head today. I wondered what became of him. I hadn't heard anything about him lately, but that shouldn't be a surprise. National League relievers have a sneaky way of hiding from me. It's not their fault. It's just the nature of the game.

I went looking for answers, only to find nothing definitive. What I did find raised an eyebrow. After having a literal cup of coffee with the Rockies in 2007, he was back in the minors. I couldn't find any mention of him playing past 2008 with the Rockies AA team.

Baseball Reference even lists his final game as May 20, 2007. After eight seasons in the Rockies organization only resulting in two games pitched with the parent club, maybe Darren made peace with the fact that he wouldn't return. Maybe he focused on something else entirely. Maybe it wasn't his decision.

Whatever the reasons behind his leaving the Rockies, I wish him well. I hope that he appreciates that he pitched in two big league games. It's a lot more than most of us will ever accomplish. I am officially moving this saga to cold case. At least Darren Clarke can say that he has an unblemished ERA in the majors. Now that's something!