Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Tyler Mahle, center, meets with catcher Tucker Barnhart and pitching coach Danny Darwin, right, during a home game against the Detroit Tigers in June 2018. Darwin has spent most of his coaching career in the Southern League, and he’s back there this year with the Class AA Chattanooga Lookouts.As the 63-year-old pitching coach of this season’s Chattanooga Lookouts, Danny Darwin has nearly four decades on the starters and relievers he will be working with during the weeks and months ahead.
That age gap slightly increases every year, but the big-league veteran once known as “Dr. Death” continues to employ his tried-and-true method in connecting with today’s youth.
“When you’re a coach at this level, you have to become their friend, their father and their brother so that they can confide in you,” Darwin said. “Once you show a kid you really care for him, then there is no difference between now and when I played. With social media, everybody knows what they’re doing, but other than that – you can become a little more stern with them once you become their friend, and they won’t take it personally.”
The Lookouts, who are Class AA affiliates of the Cincinnati Reds for the first time since a 21-season run from 1988 to 2008, open their 140-game Southern League schedule at 6:15 tonight against the Montgomery Biscuits at AT&T Field.
Chattanooga manager Pat Kelly is also 63 years old and has teamed with Darwin the past four years. The duo guided the Pensacola Wahoos to three consecutive Southern League playoff appearances (2015-17), with their 2017 team sharing the league crown with the Lookouts.
Last season, Kelly and Darwin were bumped up to Cincinnati’s staff under interim manager Jim Riggleman, who led the Reds to a 64-80 record following last April’s firing of Bryan Price after a 3-15 start.
“Danny and I have a great relationship,” Kelly said. “Neither one of us are that serious. We’re serious about the game but not about ourselves, and I think we balance each other out very well. He controls me at times, and I sometimes control him, but it’s been a great combination.”
Darwin had a 21-year career in the majors with eight teams, beginning with the 1978 Texas Rangers and concluding with the 1998 San Francisco Giants. In 1990, the lanky Texan was with the Houston Astros and led the National League with a 2.21 earned run average.
When his playing days were over, Darwin retreated to his Lone Star State hunting ranch, but the quiet life did not last long.
“It kind of got boring,” he said. “I would be sitting at home or playing golf every day. I just enjoy this. It’s fun to see these young men progress each and every day with the hope of getting them to the big leagues. You do have to get used to riding buses in this league, but it’s all worth it.
“It’s all about the kids and getting them better.”
Most of Darwin’s coaching career has been spent in the Southern League, including a 2010 stint with the Lookouts, who were affiliated at that time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tejay Antone is scheduled to start for Chattanooga in the opener, and Tony Santillan, Scott Moss and Jordan Johnson will follow him in the rotation.
Darwin is excited about all of them.
“Tejay Antone knows how to pitch and throws a good, hard two-seamer down in the zone and has a good slider,” he said. “Santillan is a power pitcher who throws hard and has good off-speed stuff, and Moss is a lefty who relies on location, has a good slider and spots the ball up well.
“I haven’t seen as much of Johnson, because we got him in a trade, but he probably has the best curveball on the team right now.”
Chattanooga’s bullpen includes Joel Kuhnel, who throws close to 100 mph, and Ryan Hendrix, who Darwin said is in the 95-98 range.
The opener will mark the first time Chattanooga fans can see their latest bunch of Lookouts in a game that counts in the standings, but it’s just a continuation of the bonding process Darwin already has started with his 12-man staff.
“You have some bumps in the road, but I have a line there that they know not to cross,” Darwin said. “I just want to be their friend on and off the field. Once you get their trust, good things tend to happen.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.