Before his 2017 death from brain cancer, relatives and former teammates saw him lose a grip on reality. Now they suspect a link between six Phillies cancer deaths and 'forever chemicals' in the turf.
From Phillies icon to ‘time traveler’: Darren Daulton’s family believes his struggles and cancer were linked to the Vet’s turf
In 1997, Daulton found a storybook close to his career: He won a World Series as a late-season addition to the Florida Marlins, then retired. In 2013, Daulton was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Surgeons removed two tumors, and Daulton announced that he wasSix former Phillies — Daulton, Tug McGraw, John Vukovich, David West, Johnny Oates, and Ken Brett — have died from glioblastoma. All of them spent parts of their careers playing at Veterans Stadium, which was demolished in 2004.
She recently retained Robert Bilott, a lawyer with the Taft law firm in Cincinnati, who has spent much of the last 24 years exposing, through litigation, the risks that PFAS pose to the environment and to human health. In the mid-Ohio valley, Bilott has secured more than $750 million in compensation for residents whose water supplies were contaminated with PFOA, a type of forever chemical, released by DuPont.
The pervasive forever chemicals are in an array of products, from turf and nonstick cookware to firefighting gear and food packaging. While the danger of drinking PFAS-contaminated water has been established, experts say that there aren’t sufficient data to fully understand the potential risks of inhaling chemicals or getting them on the skin from repeated contact with playing surfaces.
“We know something is wrong here. But none of us are scientists. As time goes on, now it’s like, OK, we know there is more to this. We know the chemicals are bad. But why is it just targeting certain individuals?”Daulton was not a household name in 1980, when the Phillies drafted him in the 25th round of the June amateur draft. The skinny 18-year-old from Arkansas City, Kan. — population 13,201 — was no phenom-in-the-making, like Darryl Strawberry, who’d been selected with the No.
Christenson noticed in Daulton a willingness to show teammates compassion and affection, a trait often in short supply among competitive, self-conscious athletes. “If Darren liked you,” Christenson said, “heDaulton had a brief taste of the majors in 1983 — two games, three at-bats, one hit. That same year, in the June draft, the Phillies selected Kevin Ward, an outfielder from the University of Arizona who’d once been a two-sport standout at Central Bucks High School West.
“The hardest part about the day games was, if you dove for a ball when it was that hot,” he said, “the turf disintegrates your uniform, disintegrates your flesh.” It was a euphoric experience, unlike anything Daulton had ever experienced. Then, during spring training in 1994, Nicole Garcia, a pre-med student at the University of South Florida, and a girlfriendwalked into Carmine’s, a popular bar in Ybor City, Fla.
“I laughed even harder,” she said. “I asked him, ‘Who would name their team the Phillies? Like what is that? What even is a Phillie?”Months later, in late June, Daulton was struck by a foul tip during a Phillies game, and suffered a fractured clavicle. Daulton, in the throes of a divorce, asked Nicole whether she’d come help as he recovered. She agreed, and a Phillies staffer picked her up at Philadelphia International Airport.“All these people are running after him,” she said.
They married in his hometown on Nov. 25, 1995, and bought a four-bedroom home in Harbor Bluffs near Clearwater, with a pool, boat slip and elevator. When the Phillies went on the road, Daulton took her with him. “We were never apart,” she said. Daulton’s career, meanwhile, was nearing its end. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 1995, and then missed all but five games of the 1996 season. He managed to return to the Phillies in 1997, primarily as an outfielder, even though running across the Vet’s fake grass was hell on his knees.
When Nicole was pregnant with the couple’s firstborn, Summer, in late 1998, Daulton began to pal around with “greenflies” who clung to him for his fame and money. Daulton was charged with domestic battery. A caseworker for Child Protective Services told Nicole that if she didn’t separate from Daulton, she would lose her children.
Dickie Noles, a former Phillies pitcher who has spent decades helping players who struggle with substance abuse problems, heard her pleas, and helped Daulton get into a rehab program. “You want to know if somebody is having any kind of symptoms, other than just getting older,” he said. “It definitely raises a few eyebrows. I was out there for nine years. I think about it.”“I’m not afraid of nothing,” he said. “But I’m scared now, dude. These people, my teammates and friends, are gone.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Phillies spring training: Pitchers and catchers report; Zack Wheeler working on a contract extension; photos from ClearwaterThe Phillies will play their first spring training game in 10 days against the Blue Jays.
Read more »
What to know about Phillies spring training: Key dates, roster questions, storylines, and moreAs pitchers and catchers report, here’s a primer on spring training as the curtain lifts in Clearwater.
Read more »
Phillies and right-hander Spencer Turnbull agree to a one-year dealTurnbull, 31, has made only seven starts since 2021 because of injuries.
Read more »
Zack Wheeler looking for ‘market value’ in extension talks with PhilliesWheeler characterized talks with the Phillies as being in the early stages. An offer hasn’t been brought to him. He said he’s “hands-off and just listening.”
Read more »
On the wisdom of the Whit Merrifield signing, and a familiar philosophical struggle for the PhilliesWhit Merrifield gives the Phillies what they lacked against the Diamondbacks instead of what got them to the NLCS in the first place.
Read more »
The Phillies give pitcher David Buchanan ‘a chance for me to complete my story’The team released the right-hander in 2016, but he grew his game by playing in Japan and Korea. Now he's back in Clearwater.
Read more »