Darrell Einertson | A Short and Forgotten 2000s MLB Career

Darrell Einertson

Darrell Einertson, born September 4, 1972, is a former Major League Baseball player who played with the New York Yankees during the 2000 season. He grew up in the town of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and joined the Yankees as a minor league baseball player in 1995 after graduating from Iowa Wesleyan College.

He later got called up for the major leagues during the spring 2000 season. He played for the World Series champs that season, but only pitched in 11 games. It was his only season in the pros, finishing with a 3.55 ERA.

Einertson explained on the Moonlight Graham Podcast how he got called up to the Yankees and debuted against the Kansas City Royals.

“They flew me straight to New York City,” he said. “I landed, got picked up, and they took me to Yankee Stadium. I had my suitcase with me, and that day I got in the ball game. We were playing the Kansas City Royals at home, on a Saturday day-game, with about 58,000 fans.”

During his debut, Einertson was surprised to pitch the same day he arrived in the major leagues.

“I almost swallowed my Copenhagen,” he said. “I don’t know, I was so shocked to get that call on the first day ... and I went in there [and] got four outs.”

While playing alongside his Yankees teammates, they made him carry out certain duties as a rookie.

“They treated me just a little different because I was a rookie, they made me carry the seed bag, I got the bubble gum bag, I had to carry the balls, the bands, and all the other stuff, but I didn’t really care because it was so cool to be down in that bullpen.”

Einerston was not on their World Series roster, but he made the team coming out of spring training in 2001. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career.

“I made the big league team coming out of spring training in 2001,” he said. “I had a small, partial tear underneath my armpit area, and so that kinda shut me down for the 2001 season.”

Despite Darrell Einertson’s brief time in the majors, he still had the chance to serve alongside some of the most well-known baseball legends, including Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.

“Oh Jete was cool,” he said. “He was cool as a fan. He’d treat you just as you were in the big leagues, … guys would always look down on you just because you were a rookie, but no, he was a genuine good dude.”