Darrell Evans’ career year came in 1973. Among major league position players, only Joe Morgan had a higher WAR.

Evans led the league in walks and placed third in homers, total bases, and RBI. Teammates  Davey Johnson and Hank Aaron hit 43 and 40 homers respectively. Evans hit 41 bombs as the Atlanta threesome became the first trio of teammates to top the 40-homer mark.

The three men also represented the Braves in the ’73 All Star Game. Evans appeared as a pinch hitter in the top of the third inning and drew a base on balls from Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven. In the regular season, Evans earned 124 free passes.

As was custom at the time, the team arranged their flights and paid their way to the July 23rd contest. Three days after the Mid Summer Classic, the Braves sent the letter shown here to NL Secretary-Treasurer Fred Fleig asking for reimbursement. Below the letter is a copy of the check from league to the Atlanta club for $453.81.

For a 37-day period in 1976, Padres ace Randy Jones put together a remarkable string of command and control. After walking Steve Ontiveros in the 8th inning on May 17, Jones reeled off 68 consecutive frames without walking a single batter.

When he struck out Darrell Evans in the 7th inning of a tie game on June 22nd, Jones tied Christy Mathewson’s 1913 NL mark of pinpoint control. In the bottom half of the inning, Jones singled and came around to score the winning run.

The next inning Jones’ 3-2 sinker to Giants catcher Marc Hill fell out of the strike zone and the streak ended. Matty and Jones now shared the record.

Shown here is a PSA slabbed ticket for the night Randy tied the great Christy Mathewson. Jones signed the ticket, adding his “#35 1976 NL Cy”.

Twenty-five years later Greg Maddux passed both Jones and Mathewson by twirling 72 1/3 consecutive innings without issuing a base on balls. You can see the lineup card that hung in the Braves dugout that night by clicking here.

The 1986 Tiger infield slugged its way into baseball history. Catcher Lance Parrish, first baseman Darrell Evans, shortstop Alan Trammell, third baseman Darnell Coles, and shortstop Lou Whitaker each hit at least 20 home runs.

It remains the only time in baseball history an infield has accomplished the feat. Evans led the team with 29 home runs. Parrish had 22, Trammell 21 with both Coles and Trammell at exactly 20. Two years removed from their World Series title, the Tigers were still a formidable force.

Tiger fans especially loved the double-play combo of career Motown men Trammell and Whitaker. Together they played 1,918 games together as the longest-standing double-lay duo in baseball history. The pair also holds the record for most double plays turned by teammates.

Among teammates at any position, the Detroit duo holds the American League appearances for most games together. On September 13, 1995 they played in their 1,915th game together to pass Kansas City men George Brett and Frank White.

Shown here is a ticket to the game when Trammell and Whitaker set the AL mark. Whitaker signed the it and added the inscription “1,915 games with Tram”.

The major league record is held by Houston’s Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell who appeared in 2,020 contests side by side. The Cubs Cooperstown pair of Billy Williams and Ron Santo hold the second spot with 2,012 games together.

The Major League Baseball Players Association sent out questionnaires like this one to its players to determine what endorsements each man had. Today’s players complement their baseball salary with off field endorsement. That wasn’t always the case.

This document filled out by Darrell Evans on July 12, 1973 shows him to have no endorsements whatsoever.

It was a fine year for Evans who played in his first All Star game 12 days after penning his signature here. Evans finished his career year of 1973 with career highs in batting average (.281), homers (41), and RBI (104). For good measure the Atlanta third baseman posted a .403 on-base percentage.

That season Evans joined Hank Aaron and Davey Johnson to form baseball’s first trio of teammates to hit at least 40 homers each. Evans finished his career with 414 career homers and a respectable .361 on-base percentage.

Darrell Evans would certainly get more love if he played in today’s SABR-minded environment. He drew over 100 walks in five seasons with a career high of 126 in 1974.

As of the start of the 2021 season Evans ranked 12th on the all-time career walk list ahead of hitters like Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron.

Evans hit over 20 homers in 10 different seasons. He was the first player to hit 40 or more homers in each league and at age 38 he became the oldest player to lead the American League in homers.

Evans also set an MLB record (since broken) by hitting 60 homers after turning 40. When he retired, only he and Reggie Jackson hit 100 or more homers with three different clubs.

SARBmetrician Bill James identified Evans as, “the most underrated player in baseball history, absolutely number one on the list“.

Shown here is a contract between Evans and the Autograph Baseball Company signed in 1969, the year of his big league debut. Evans agreed to have his facsimile signature included on souvenir baseballs with stamped autographs. The terms of the deal? Evans received one cent per ball sold.