Darren “Dutch” Daulton was always a fan favorite of the Phillies faithful. From 1983-1997, he was the rock behind home plate on some good Phillies teams and on some that were less than desirable. A three time all-star catcher, Daulton spent fourteen years behind the plate in Philadelphia, most notably being the spark that lead the Phillies to the 1993 World Series. In 1997, Daulton was getting on in age and the Phillies dealt him to the Florida Marlins, who were in the playoff hunt, giving their backstop one final opportunity to win the World Series.

Dutch’s storied career in Philadelphia didn’t occur without controversy. In 1991, Daulton was seriously injured in a car accident when the car he was in struck a tree. He and teammate (as well as driver), Lenny Dykstra, had left John Kruk’s bachelor party. He was also arrested numerous times, dating back to 1988 for alcohol and driving infractions. His bizarre behavior began after a 2001 arrest. Dutch was involved in a single vehicle accident and claimed he had been run off of the road due to ties with the White House and FBI. Daulton also appeared intoxicated at the time of the accident.

Since then, Daulton has appeared to have lost his marbles. In 1997, he claimed to have had an out of body experience of sorts, after a game winning hit at Wrigley Field. It was described that as he was rounding first base something came over him, where he didn’t know what was happening and it felt as if he never swung the bat (he backs this up by stating the ball, which was hit on the third base line couldn’t have been hit by him because he never hit the ball on the third base line). He claims after he retired that these experiences became frequent, until they were daily occurrences. Apparently, on a daily basis he visits different realms and different plains of existence. According to Dutch, on December 21, 2012, the Earth and all of its inhabitants will rise to another level of consciousness, what he calls “the fourth dimension” and “everything will be better.” Of course the media jumped on Dutch and his bizarre behavior. How did he react? He uses his personal website to compare himself to Jesus Christ (isn’t that what everyone does to prove they’re not crazy?).

"Well, I honestly wish I had all the answers but I don’t and please don’t shoot the messenger. I will inform you that a man named Jesus tried to teach the masses 2000 years ago and they called him a heretic and hung him on the cross.

He performed many miracles and, of course, their naive minds thought he was demonic. All he was trying to convey is the "LIGHT" or the power of God that resides within us. He said he would come back and he has. This light – or Holy Spirit – is being poured out at this time and our DNA is accepting it and changing from two strands back to 12 strands. We are gaining our White Robes (Light Bodies) that the Bible speaks of." 

It doesn’t stop there as he’s has taken his theories and beliefs to a “new level”. Daulton has written a book called “If They Only Knew”. The book, which is due out next month, is meant to explain Daulton’s metaphysic beliefs, and how numerology and the pyramids can take us all to a new level of existence.

Anybody want to be like Dutch???

Living in New York City one must have an open mind, but Daulton’s pill is tough to swallow. Judging by the way Daulton’s life has gone since his “experience”, he surely isn’t living by example. Since his “experience”, his wife has divorced him (she claims because of his drug and alcohol abuse, although he says he’s not a drunk and she doesn’t understand metaphysics), he’s developed financial problems, and he’s been in jail on more then five occasions. To me, this doesn’t sound like a new way of living, but rather more like someone with problems and turns to the bottle for a solution. “Metaphysics” seem like a nice way to not take responsibility for your actions.

Maybe Dutch is right, and we’re the ones who are crazy. On the other hand, maybe Dutch just needs some help for his problems. I’ve always been a fan of Darren Daulton, and I’m not going to condemn or judge him. I feel for him and pray he gets the right treatment for the demons that haunt him.