Darnell begins his first season with Chicago after signing a minor league deal with an invite to major league Spring Training ... owns a .246 batting average (175-for-711) with 38 doubles, five triples, 19 home runs and 78 RBI in 306 major league contests with Baltimore (2004), Minnesota (2007), Cincinnati (2009), Boston (2010-12) and the New York Yankees (2012). ...Owns a .271 batting average (1,433-for-5,294) with 744 runs, 299 doubles, 48 triples, 102 home runs, 625 RBI and 227 stolen bases in 1,384 minor league games over 15 seasons. ...Recorded double-digit stolen bases in his first five minor league campaigns (37 in 1998, 26 in 1999, 11 in 2000, 16 in 2001 and 20 in 2002). ...Received the 2010 Jackie Jensen Award for Spirit and Determination from the Boston Chapter of the BBWAA. ...Selected to play in the 2006 and 2008 Triple-A All Star Games ... earned International League All-Star honors in 2006. ...Named the 2002 Orioles Minor League Player of the Year. ...Is a 1997 graduate of Cherry Creek (Colo.) High School ... selected by Baltimore in the first round (26th overall) of the 1997 Draft. ...Rated by Baseball America as the best high school position player in the 1997 First-Year Player Draft.
2013
Darnell signed a minor league deal with Chicago in January ... after starting the season with Triple-A Iowa, in which he appeared in 92 games, he was promoted to the Cubs, August 10 ... played in 25 games for Chicago ... With Chicago, played eight games (six starts) in right field, seven games (five starts) in left field and two games (one start) in center field ... Batted .429 (12-for-28) against lefties ... hit .160 (4-for-25) against right-handed pitchers ... Hit .379 (11-for-29) with four doubles, one homer and five RBI in 12 September contests ... was 9-for-29 (.310) when hitting with two strikes ... Made his Cubs debut as a pinch-hitter, August 11 in St. Louis, and had his first start (left field), August 14 vs. Cincinnati (1-for-4) ... Was the hero, September 25 vs. Pittsburgh, as his three-run homer in the sixth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and led the Cubs to a 4-2 win ... Was his first home run since April 30, 2012 vs. Oakland with Boston ... Hit .236 (62-for-263) with 13 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 26 RBI in his 92 contests with Iowa ... Posted a .333 batting average (18-for-54) in 16 games from the Triple-A All-Star break until his promotion to Chicago ... Homered in consecutive games twice with Iowa, July 12-13 vs. Albuquerque and August 5-6 at Tacoma ... Outrighted to Iowa, October 8 ... elected free agency, October 15, and signed a one-year minor league contract with the Cubs, November 22.
2012
Darnell began the year with Boston before being designated for assignment, June 30 ... claimed off waivers by the Yankees
four days later, and finished with a .205 batting average (18-for-88) with seven doubles, two home runs and nine RBI in 42
games between the two teams. ...Went 2-for-4 with a home run and a career-best four RBI in Boston's
10-3 victory at the White Sox, April 27.
...Recorded a career-high tying three hits, April 30 vs. Oakland ... clubbed
a two-run home run, as well.
...Logged a .214 batting average (18-for-84) in 38 games with the Red
Sox.
...Made his second career pitching appearance, May 6 vs. Baltimore ...
took the loss after allowing three runs on two hits and two walks in 1.0
inning of work.
...Placed on Boston's 15-day D.L., May 15 (retroactive to May 12), with a
strained right oblique ... activated on June 5.
...Appeared in six games as a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket,
batting .190 (4-for-21) with three doubles and two RBI.
...Designated for assignment by the Yankees, July 17 ... outrighted to
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, July 20.
...Played in 31 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to close out the
season ... hit .194 (18-for-108) with three home runs and seven RBI.
2011
Appeared in 79 games overall with the Red Sox, including 40 starts...Played all 3 outfield
positions, including 37 games in right (21 starts), 23 in left (13 GS) and 13 in center field (6 GS).
Pinch-ran 13 times, 5th-most in the AL...Scored 3 times as a pinch-runner.
5 of 6 homers were off left-handed pitchers, with only roundtripper off a right-hander coming off Jeremy
Guthrie in Game 1 of a doubleheader on 9/19, his 1st homer off a righty since 9/7/10 vs. TB (Jeremy Hellickson)...
Hit 2 homers off Rays lefty David Price (4/12 and 7/15).
Tallied a .260 AVG (27-for-104) vs. LHP compared to .189 (10-for-53) vs. RHP.
Hit for a .346 clip (9-for-26) in 16 games against AL Central opponents and .318 (21-for-66) with 3 of his 6
homers and 14 of his 24 RBI against AL East rivals.
Batted at a .382 clip (13-for-34) in 18 games in September after combining to hit .195 (24-for-123) in 61 tilts
over the 1st 5 months of the season.
Placed on the 15-day disabled list on 5/26 with a left quadriceps strain...Appeared in 9 rehab games with Triple-A Pawtucket, hitting .345 (10-for-29) with 2 homers and 11 RBI, before being activated from the DL on 6/14.
Reached in a career-high 9 straight games with a plate appearance from 7/5-31, batting .318 (7-for-22) with
3 doubles, a homer, 7 RBI, 8 runs and 6 walks in that span...Hit at a .309 clip (30-for-97) in 45 games from the
beginning of that stretch through the end of the season.
Threw out Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion at home from left field in the bottom of the 9th to end the game on
7/5, preserving a 3-2 win...Was his 1st OF assist of 2011 and only time getting a runner at the plate.
Scored the game-winning run in consecutive contests after entering as a pinch-runner...Ran for David Ortiz
and plated the winning run on Josh Reddick's single in the bottom of the 10th inning on 8/7 vs. NYY, as the Red
Sox walked off with a 3-2 victory...Scored the go-ahead run on an Ortiz single in the top of the 9th inning of an
8-6 win at MIN on 8/8 while pinch-running for Adrian Gonzalez.
Tied a career high with 3 hits on 8/21 at KC, his 4th 3-hit game and 1st since 9/5/10 vs. CWS...Hit a solo homer
and 2 singles, and scored twice in the Sox 6-1 victory.
Made 1st career pitching appearance on 8/26 vs. OAK (1.0 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 2 BB)...Was 1st Red Sox position
player to pitch since Bill Hall on 5/28/10 vs. KC.
Finished the season with a 7-game hit streak from 9/14-27, tying a career-long stretch (also 9/12-27/09)...
Went 9-for-19 (.474) with 2 doubles, a homer, 4 RBI and 3 runs scored in that time.
2010
Played a career-high 117 games for the Red Sox, finishing 2nd on the team with 114
games and 80 starts in the outfield.
Selected from Triple-A Pawtucket on 4/20 and remained with Boston for the remainder of the season, playing
in a career-high 117 of the club's 149 games in that time.
Appeared in 69 games in center field (50 starts), 34 in right (20 GS) and 30 in left (10 GS) and combined for a
.990 fielding percentage (2 errors/198 total chances)...Since 2000, the only other qualifying Red Sox to appear
in at least 1 game at each outfield position and post a better fielding mark was Jacoby Ellsbury in 2008 (1.000).
Was the only AL player to appear in at least 30 games and start at least 10 games at all 3 outfield positions...The
only other Major Leaguers to accomplish the feat were San Francisco's Andres Torres and Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez.
Led the team with 9 outfield assists, tied for 8th most in the AL.
Started for Boston in 52 of the club's 54 games against left-handed starters after his 4/20 selection, including
Boston's 1st 30 such tilts from 4/20-7/22...Hit .294 (45-for-153) with 4 homers against left-handers compared
to .247 (41-for-166) with 5 long balls vs. right-handed pitching.
On 4/20 vs. TEX, homered in his 1st Red Sox plate appearance, a game-tying, pinch-hit shot in the 8th inning
off Darren Oliver...Also connected for a 2-out, walk-off single in the 9th, his 1st career walk-off hit...Became
the 1st player to homer in his 1st plate appearance with the Red Sox since Orlando Cabrera on 8/1/04 at MIN
(also accomplished by Daniel Nava in 2010 on 6/12 vs. PHI) and the 1st to do it as a pinch-hitter since Curtis
Pride on 9/19/97 vs. CWS...Is the only player with a walk-off RBI in his Sox debut since the RBI became an
official statistic in 1920 (Elias).
Also homered in his 2nd game with the Sox, 4/21 vs. TEX, becoming just the 4th Red Sox player since 1920 to
go deep in each of his 1st 2 games with Boston, the 1st since Sam Horn, 7/25-26/87.
Led the AL with a .429 clip (6-for-14) in the pinch (min. 12 AB)...His 6 pinch-hits tied for 4th in the AL and
were the most by a Red Sox since Dave McCarty in 2004 (7).
Tied for 4th in the AL with 12 sacrifice hits, the most by a Red Sox since Darren Lewis in 1999 (14).
Laid down multiple sacrifice hits on 3 occasions (2 each on 6/6 at BAL, 7/17 vs. TEX and 9/27 at CWS), the
most in any season by a ML position player since Colorado's Cory Sullivan in 2006 (3) and the most by an AL
position player since New York's Alvaro Espinosa and Cleveland's Felix Fermin in 1989 (both 3)...He became the
1st Red Sox position player to do it since Bill Regan in 1928 (3).
Collected 9 homers and 9 stolen bases (10 attempts), 1 of 22 AL players to reach those totals in 2010...
Became the 1st Red Sox player with at least 9 homers and 9 sacrifice hits in a season since John Valentin in
1993 (11 HR, 16 SH)...Was the only Major Leaguer with at least 9 homers and 9 stolen bases and more than 9
sacrifice hits on the year.
Of his 9 outfield assists, 7 came as a center fielder, the most by a Red Sox at that position since Coco Crisp in
2007 (7)...Recorded career-high 2 assists on 5/8 vs. NYY, both from center.
Became the only Red Sox player ever with at least 9 homers, 9 stolen bases, 9 outfield assists and more than
9 sacrifice hits in a single season.
Matched his career high for the 2nd and 3rd times with 3 hits on 7/7 at TB and 9/5 vs. CWS...Established
career marks with 3 RBI on 4/20 vs. TEX, 3 walks on 4/30 at BAL and 2 stolen bases on 6/17 vs. ARI...Notched
his 100th career hit with a double in the 2nd inning on 8/18 vs. LAA.
Homered in consecutive games and back-to-back plate appearances, in the 8th inning on 8/15 at TEX and in
the 3rd on 8/17 vs. LAA.
Led the AL with 3 triples in August...Tripled in back-to-back games on 8/11 and 8/12, the 1st Sox player to
do so since Coco Crisp, 7/17-18/07.
Underwent surgery on 10/13 to repair a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, performed by
Dr. Donald Sheridan in Phoenix, AZ.
2009
Made the Reds Opening Day roster in his 12th professional season...Appeared in 24 tilts, including 7 starts for the Reds before he was designated for assignment on 5/22, when
Jonny Gomes was promoted...Cleared waivers on 5/26 and accepted outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville...Promoted to the Reds again on 8/25 and spent the rest of the year in the Majors...In 23 games after that
promotion hit .323 (21-for-65) with 2 homers and 9 RBI...Made 22 starts overall with the Big League club, including 12 in left field, 8 in right and 2 in center...Tied for 4th in the International League with 7 triples for Louisville.
2008
Appeared in 93 games for Twins Triple-A Rochester club despite 3 stints on the DL...Released by the Twins on 3/14 but re-signed a minor league contract the next day...Was the Red Wings lone representative at the Triple-A All-Star Game in Louisville, KY...Named International League Batter of the Week for 4/28-5/5 when he hit .469 (15-for-32) with 3 homers and
18 RBI in 8 games...Became a free agent following the season and on 12/2 was signed by the Reds to a minor league contract
with an invitation to Major League Spring Training camp.
2007
Started the season in the Washington organization with Triple-A Columbus...appeared in 73 games for the Clippers, all in the outfield...hit .388 (47-for-121) in May (30 games)...hit .422 (27-for-64) during a 16-game hitting streak from May 1-15...recorded his first four-hit game of the season May 11...had eight games with three-or-more hits...posted a .355 (27-for-76) average with a .416 on-base percentage vs. lefties...hit .351 with runners in scoring position for the Clippers...was acquired by the Twins on June 24 and assigned to Triple-A Rochester...made his Red Wings debut June 26 and went 1-for-3 with a double while playing right field...hit safely in 12 of his first 19 games at Rochester and recorded six multi-hit games...contract selected, July 20...appeared in four games for the Twins before being optioned to Rochester, July 25...hit safely in 10 of 11 games, going 14-for-44 (.318), August 6-16.
2006
Was named the CF on the Triple-A International League's post-season All-Star squad after batting .292 with 33
doubles, 14 homers and 30 steals in 136 games with Durham...30 stolen bags were most since swiping 37 in pro
debut in 1998...led IL batters with 157 hits, and ranked 5th in steals and 4th in both doubles and runs (80)...also ranked
among TBR minor leaguers in hits (4th) and stolen bases (5th)...hit safely in Durham-record 27 straight games, June
23-July 24 (.390, 41-for-105)...the streak was the 2nd-longest in organization history, behind only Aubrey Huff's 28-game tear with Orlando of the Double-A Southern League in 1999...also endured a 9-game 0-for-35 drought, August
1-10...hit a walk-off solo homer August 23 vs. Norfolk in Durham's 7-6 victory...played for Navegantes del Magallanes
of the Venezuelan Winter League following the season, hitting .292 with 6 doubles and 3 steals in 23 games.
2005
Hit .270 in 26 games with Buffalo of the Triple-A International League being released June 4...signed with TBR, June 10...hit
6 homers in his first 15 games with Durham...posted back-to-back 2-homer games, June 28-29 vs. Syracuse...the 2-game
homer barrage included a walk-off 2-run blast on June 28...added a 3rd 2-homer game, July 16 vs. Rochester.
2004
Played in nine games for the Orioles after being called up from Double-A Bowie...Suffered a torn glenoid labrum during the season and is not expected back into game action until May 2005...Was named the organization's Player of the Year after hitting .307 with 15 home runs for Bowie...Considered one of the organization's top prospects.
2003
Was headed to breakthrough season in first full year at AAA Ottawa before going on the disabled list on
May 19 with right shoulder tendinitis...Had arthroscopic surgery for a labral repair on the shoulder on
June 12, ending his season...Played 23 games in center field, 17 games in right field and 3 games as DH...Had 2 hits on opening day at Scranton-Wilkes Barre, then went hitless in 4 of his next 5 games, going
2-for-18 as his average fell to .182...Hit safely in 4 straight games, April 13-15, including a season-best 4-for-4 outing vs. Pawtucket on April
14, to raise his average to .342...Finished April batting .307 with 14 RBI in 23 games and was hitting .281 in May when he was injured.
2002
Earned Orioles Minor League Player of the Year honors.
Combined to hit .290 (138-for-476) with 10 homers and 50 RBI in 128 games overall...Successful on 20 of 26
(77%) stolen base attempts.
2001
Made Triple-A debut with 104 games for Rochester...Began year with Double-A Bowie.
Combined to hit .248 (126-for-508) with 5 homers and 56 RBI in 134 games overall.
2000
Spent entire year at Double-A Bowie, his 1st professional season at that level.
Hit safely in 30 of 35 games from 4/14-5/20, batting .290 (46-for-155).
1999
Led Single-A Frederick in walks (61), triples (5) and runs scored (81).
Combined to hit .318 (70-for-220) in the months of June and July.
Had 41 multi-hit games...From 5/28-7/3, reached base via hit or walk in 33 consecutive games, including a
13-game hitting streak (5/28-6/8).
1998
In 1st professional season led Single-A Delmarva in runs scored (87) and ranked 2nd
in stolen bases (35).
Was an honorable mention selection on Howe Sportsdata's All-Teen Team...Rated by Baseball America as the
Orioles 4th-best prospect.
