A native of Arkansas City, Kansas, Daulton was a 25th round draft pick by the Phillies in 1980. He would reach the majors at the end of the 1983 season. That year the Phillies led by the Wheeze Kids triumvirate of Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez won the NL pennant. Daulton spent the next several seasons going back and forth between the majors and minors until he became the everyday catcher in 1989.
Daulton would have a breakout season in 1992 when he led the NL in RBIs earning the first of three NL All-Star Team appearances. The following year, Daulton led the Phillies to their first NL pennant since making his big league debut a decade earlier. He would lead the team with 105 runs and also homered during the 1993 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Daulton finished in the top 10 in NL MVP balloting in both 1992 and 1993.
Daulton was en route to a third straight 100 RBI season in 1994 when he was felled by a season ending knee injury. He would never regain that level of production and would move to first base. However, Daulton would enjoy World Series glory when he was traded to the Florida Marlins in 1997. He would hit another home run in that series and would earn his only World Series ring as the Marlins prevailed against the Cleveland Indians in seven games. Daulton would retire on top. In 14 big league seasons, Daulton hit .245 with 137 HR and 588 RBI.
In 2010, the Phillies inducted Daulton into their Wall of Fame. Three years later, Daulton was diagnosed with brain cancer. Daulton was deemed cancer free in 2015, but it would return last month.
Below is a video of Daulton during the 2015 Broad Street Run in Philadelphia where his foundation raised money for brain cancer research. R.I.P.
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