Born in Joplin, Missouri, Porter was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his debut on September 2, 1971, with the Brewers at age 19. He finished third in the 1973 Rookie of the Year voting. Porter was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1974, but he had his best years after he was traded in 1976 to the Kansas City Royals. With the Royals, he was selected to the All-Star team four times. In 1979, Porter led the majors with 121 walks and became only the sixth catcher in Major League history to score 100 runs and have 100 runs batted in. The feat had previously been accomplished by Mickey Cochrane, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench, and Carlton Fisk—all in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Only Porter and Cochrane had 100 walks, 100 runs, and 100 RBI in a single season. He became a fan favorite for his intensity;[citation needed] teammate George Brett once said of Porter, "Darrell always played like it was the seventh game of the World Series."\n', '

Porter told the Associated Press that during the winter of 1979–1980, he became paranoid, and he was convinced that baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn—who was known to be tough on drug use—knew about his drug abuse. Porter said he believed that Kuhn was trying to sneak into his house and planned to ban him from baseball for life. Porter found himself sitting up at night in the dark watching out the front window, waiting for Kuhn to approach while clutching billiard balls and a shotgun.\n', '

During spring training in 1980, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe paid a visit to the Kansas City clubhouse. He asked the players ten questions, the point of which being if a player answered three or more of the questions with an affirmation, the player might have a problem with drugs or alcohol. Porter affirmed all ten questions and checked himself into a rehabilitation center, admitting he had abused alcohol, cocaine, Quaaludes, and marijuana.\n', '

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