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. 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.
Later career
After checking into the rehab center, Porter became a born-again Christian, married, and became a spokesman for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. His production on the field declined after rehab, and he never again approached his 1979 levels. He went on to play in three World Series—in 1980 with the Royals and in 1982 and 1985 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Porter won both the 1982 National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award and the 1982 World Series MVP Award. At the time, Porter was only the second player in baseball history to win both awards in a single postseason; Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates won both awards in 1979. After the 1985 season, the Cardinals released Porter, and he wound up his career with two seasons with the Texas Rangers as a part-time player. He appeared in his final major league game on October 4, 1987 and retired at the age of 35.
Career statistics
In a 17-year major league career, Porter played in 1,782 games, accumulating 1,369 hits in 5,539 at bats for a.247 career batting average along with 188 home runs, 826 runs batted in and a.354 on-base percentage. He ended his career with a.982 fielding percentage. As of the 2009 season, he ranked 21st on the all-time list for home runs by a catcher and 20th all-time for RBI by a catcher. Porter caught two no-hitters during his career—Jim Colborn in 1977 and Bob Forsch's second career no-hitter in 1983. Porter was also notable for being one of the few Major League catchers of his time to wear eyeglasses behind the plate at a time when most players needing vision correction were using contact lenses.
Personal life
Porter was married twice. His first marriage, in 1972 to the former Teri Brown, ended in divorce in 1976. On November 29, 1980, Porter married Deanne Gaulter. The couple had three children: Lindsey, Jeffrey, and Ryan. In 1984, Porter wrote an autobiography titled Snap Me Perfect!, in which he detailed his life in baseball and his struggles with substance abuse.
In 2000, Porter was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall Of Fame. He dabbled in both broadcasting and the antique business on and off during his post-baseball years. On August 5, 2002, he left his home in Lee's Summit, Missouri, saying he was going to buy a newspaper and go to the park. That evening, he was found dead outside his vehicle in Sugar Creek, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. An autopsy found he had died of "toxic effects of cocaine." The autopsy indicated that the level of cocaine in Porter's system—consistent with recreational use—induced a condition called excited delirium that caused his heart to stop. Police theorized that Porter's car went off a road and got caught on a tree stump in La Benite Park in Sugar Creek. Police say Porter got out of the car, walked to the nearby Missouri River, and then walked back to his car. Authorities had initially speculated that he overheated while trying to push the car off the stump in high heat and humidity, but there was no evidence to indicate that he tried to move the car. The exact events surrounding his death are still unknown.
