Former major league infielder Denny Doyle passed away Tuesday, according to multiple reports. He was 78 years old.
Doyle appeared in parts of eight big league seasons during the 1970’s. A Kentucky native, he attended Morehead State before entering the professional ranks with the Phillies in 1966. He’d play four years in the minors before cracking the majors a bit after his 26th birthday in 1970. Doyle would work as the Phils primary second baseman for his first four MLB seasons.
Listed at just 5-foot-9, Doyle didn’t bring much power to the table. He never topped four home runs in a season, but he was adept at putting the ball in play. Doyle struck out in fewer than 10% of his plate appearances in each season from 1971-76, a time when the league strikeout percentage sat in the 13-14% range. Teams clearly valued his up-the-middle defense as well.
The Phillies traded Doyle to the Angels after the 1973 season. He spent the ’74 campaign with California, and he’d remain there through the first few months of the following season. In June, the Angels dealt him to the Red Sox for a player to be named later (eventually minor-league pitcher Chuck Ross). That move paid off for Boston, as Doyle hit .310/.339/.429 in 89 games down the stretch. He received some down-ballot MVP votes for his performance and, more importantly, earned a key role on the Sox’s 1975 pennant-winning team.
Doyle appeared in and picked up a hit in all seven games of that year’s World Series showdown with the Reds, one of the most iconic series in MLB history. Boston would come up short in that set, relinquishing a three-run lead late in the decisive Game 7 and losing 4-3 on a two-out RBI single by Joe Morgan in the top half of the ninth. Doyle went 8-30 with a pair of walks and one strikeout in that series.
After two more seasons in Boston, Doyle retired following the 1977 campaign. He finished his career with a bit less than 1,000 games played. Over 3,572 plate appearances, he posted a .250/.296/.316 line. Doyle only hit 16 homers but collected 823 hits, including 113 doubles and 28 triples. He drove in 237 runs and scored 357 times.
Doyle’s brothers Brian Doyle and Blake Doyle have also had roles in MLB. Brian played in parts of four seasons with the Yankees and A’s from 1978-81, while Blake served as hitting coach of the Rockies during the mid-2010’s. MLBTR sends our condolences to them and the entire Doyle family, as well as Denny Doyle’s friends, former teammates and loved ones.
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