Darin Kracl

Darin Layne Kracl

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 205 lb.

• School Brigham Young University
• High School San Leandro High School

• Born January 3, 1968 in Hayward, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Darin Kracl pitched as high as AA. After baseball, he wound up in jail.

Kracl was 13-3 as a high school senior. At BYU, he had unimpressive numbers: 4-1, 7.41 in 1987; 6-4, 2 Sv, 6.88 in 1988; 7-5, 2 Sv, 6.55 in 1989. The Oakland A's still picked him in the 4th round of the 1989 amateur draft. Assigned to the Southern Oregon A's, he had a fine pro debut at 10-1, 3.69. He led the Northwest League in victories. In 1990, the right-hander starred for the Madison Muskies (10-2, 1.98, 73 H in 100 IP) but was a bust for the Huntsville Stars (4-6, 7.12, 72 H in 54 1/3 IP). Had he qualified, he would have been second in the Midwest League in ERA behind Alan Newman. Kracl was chosen as the MWL All-Star right-handed pitcher. Sent back to A ball in 1991, he struggled for the Reno Silver Sox (1-2, 4.80) and Modesto A's (2-6, 6.14).

He was convicted for theft in 1992 and was out of baseball from 1992-1994. He worked for Federal Express during this time. He returned to the diamond as a replacement player for the Detroit Tigers during the 1995 strike. After the strike ended, he pitched for the Corpus Christi Barracudas but was lit up for 23 hits and 14 runs in 14 innings. He finished his professional baseball career with a 27-17, 4.38 record.

In 2007, he joined the St. George Roadrunners as a pitching coach. In May, he became a managing partner of the team as it changed owners. The next year, though, he got into more legal trouble. He was charged with securities fraud, trading in foreign securities without a license and making huge profits. He stole $6.7 million from investors, much of which he spent on vehicles and sports memorabilia. Kracl was sentenced to 90 days in jail. The Utah Attorney General office auctioned off his memorabilia collection to try to get back some of the money Kracl had stolen.

Sources

• 1990-1991 Baseball Almanacs
• BYU bio
• Greatest 21 Days Blog