Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons - #18 Darren Burton (2000)

During the summers of 1999 and 2000, I likely attended 100 Triple-A ballgames, the vast majority at Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic, Pennsylvania, just minutes from where I grew up.  In 1999, the Red Barons won the International League North Division for only the 2nd time in their history, and for the first time since 1992.  Darren Burton slotted in as the full-time right fielder on that improbable division winner, a team adept at climbing out of the holes their poor starting pitching put them in.  On a visit home from college early in the 2001 season, the auxiliary souvenir shop at the stadium was selling previous year jerseys relatively cheap (on the order of $35-40).  This was the first double-knit game worn I ever purchased, with no thought that it would ever turn into a collection.  I don't recall what others were for sale or why I chose Darren's jersey aside from familiarity with his play in Scranton over parts of four seasons.

Darren was something of a sparkplug, a high-energy grinder at the Triple-A level.  Listed at 6'1" (unlikely), Darren was drafted in the 5th Round of the 1990 draft by the Royals immediately after being named Mr. Baseball in the state of Kentucky on the strength of his senior season at Pulaski County High School.  He steadily moved up the ranks, putting together his strongest AAA season at Omaha as a 23-year-old in 1996.  Following that season he was selected in the minor league portion of the Rule V Draft by Philadelphia.  Assigned to Reading initially, Darren dominated in 45 games before being promoted to the Red Barons.  In 1998, he tied the franchise home run record with 18 in 117 games (LCS was a strong pitcher's park despite the first generation turf field).  It appears Darren did not last long with the 200 edition of the Red Barons before finding himself in Altoona in the Pirates organization for the remainder of his professional career.  Darren may or may not have bought shots of Goldschläger for a bunch of kids 22 years ago.

Given no name on the back, it's not clear if this jersey was worn for multiple seasons.  The road pinstripe design is interesting.  As of 2019, no major league teams wore pinstripes on the road.  In 2020, the San Diego Padres brought the design back.  Back in 2000, five teams (Colorado, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, and Minnesota) went with pinstripes on grey.  The jersey is in good shape, but features no interesting tagging or sleeve patches, a rather minimal minor league road look.

Details:

• Manufacturer - Russell Athletic
• Size - 46 (2" Extra Length)
• Date Acquired - 2001
• Authentic Game Worn - 100% Polyester
• Two-color Twill Script/Numbers
• No Sleeve Patch
• Worn in 2000, possibly earlier