According to New York Mets play-by-play man Gary Cohen, booth-mate Ron Darling is cancer-free and has officially received a clean bill of health. Darling, 59, has served as a Mets color commentator since 2006, pairing with Cohen and Keith Hernandez on SNY.
In April 2019, Darling took a medical leave of absence from his SNY duties due to a mass on his chest. The following month, he was officially diagnosed with thyroid cancer. At the time his doctors were confident, telling reporters, “(We) are optimistic that the cancer is treatable and that (Darling) would be back on air talking baseball in the next month or so.”
His doctors’ prognostication was spot-on as less than a month later, Darling’s health had improved to the point he could resume working. He said in a statement, “My doctors have informed me that my thyroid cancer has been stabilized for now and that I have been cleared to return to work. The doctors will continue to closely monitor me over the next several months to assure my progress remains on the right track. I look forward to rejoining my partners Gary and Keith in the SNY booth.”
Darling was back in the booth in early June, calling a game against the San Francisco Giants.
Darling is considered one of the best baseball commentators in the sport. Along with his duties for SNY, he is TBS’s top game analyst in the MLB playoffs, which includes a League Championship Series.
Darling spent 13 years as a major league pitcher, playing for the Mets from 1983-1991. He was 136-116 in his career with a 3.87 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 1,590 strikeouts. Darling was an All-Star in 1985, a Gold Glove winner in 1989 and won a World Series with the Mets in 1986. He also played for the Montreal Expos and Oakland Athletics.
And the best stat of all, he’s a cancer survivor (2020).
