Coles was Southern California's High School Athlete of the Year in 1980 and turned down a football and baseball scholarship at UCLA to sign with Seattle as the sixth overall selection in that year's draft. Traded to Detroit, he was part of an all-20 HR infield in 1986 as the Tigers' third baseman. An erratic hitter and a defensive liability, he went to the Pittsburgh outfield in 1987 and tied a club record with a three-HR game (9/30). He was traded back to Seattle in mid-1988 and was a regular OF in 1989, when he batted .252 with 10 home runs and 59 RBIs. That season would mark his last as a fulltime player, however, as he would collect as many as 200 at-bats just once more while bouncing from the Mariners back to the Tigers and then to the Giants, Reds, Blue Jays and Cardinals before finishing his career with 21 games for Colorado in 1997.
(ME)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 3, 1980:
The New York Mets select 18-year-old Darryl Strawberry from Los Angeles's Crenshaw High School with the first pick in the annual June free-agent draft. The Blue Jays then pick SS Garry Harris. Lefty Ken Dayley (Braves) is the 3rd pick, pitcher Mike King (A's) 4th, Jeff Pyburn (Padres) 5th, and Darnell Coles (M's) 6th. The Reds pick Danny Tartabull on the 3rd round and Eric Davis on the 8th. On the 16th round, the Twins take Jim Eisenreich while the Red Sox pick Oil Can Boyd. On the 4th round of the secondary phase draft on June 5, the Rangers find gold with Tom Henke.
»May 23, 1997:
The Rockies sell Darnell Coles to the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese League. Coles, who hit 29 homers and .302 for Chunichi last year, will replace Mike Greenwell, who suffered a broken leg.
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