Applause For Ron Darling

No one will be cheering louder than me when Ron Darling is presented with his Arthur and Milton Richman ‘You Gotta Have Heart Award’ at Saturday’s Baseball Writer’s Association of America dinner.

A diagnosis of thyroid cancer forced the SNY announcer to take a leave of absence last year. However, after time away Ron came back to finish the Mets’ season and went to complete his slate of postseason work with TBS.

The Yale graduate is back to his full schedule this winter, working for MLB Network. Darling has been a friend of mine for over 35 years and handled his illness with grace and openness.

In addition to being a standout athlete and a superb announcer, he is above all a caring person. The Ron Darling Foundation continues to come to the aid of families affected by Hurricane Sandy. There is no local charity he does not embrace.

Almost five years ago when the late Shannon Forde became ill with cancer, Ron took the lead in spear-heading fundraising activities for her family. Whether in interviews or at dinner, he would speak about Shannon and what she meant to the Mets family.

Ron’s SNY teammates Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez will be presenting him with the award, which will be a special moment for all involved. For all those reasons, I hope fans attending the dinner will stand up and cheer when Darling’s name is announced on Saturday night. No one deserves it more.