Brian Reed Doyle (born January 26, 1954) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. Although a reserve for most of his career, Doyle starred in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

for the World Champion

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

who beat the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Texas Rangers

Doyle was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the fourth round of the

1972 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The Montreal Expos had perhaps their best draft in franc ...

out of

Caverna High School Caverna High School is a small public high school located in Horse Cave, Kentucky, United States. Built in 1950, the school is operated by the Caverna Independent Schools, one of only a handful of school districts in Kentucky that are known to ope ...

Horse Cave, Kentucky Horse Cave is a home rule-class city in Hart County, Kentucky, United States. Randall Curry currently serves as mayor of the city and is assisted by a city council that is composed of six members. As of the 2010 census, the population of Hors ...

. He batted .259 with ten

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 132

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

over five seasons in the Rangers'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

when he was traded to the Yankees along with

Greg Pryor Gregory Russell Pryor (born October 2, 1949), is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He played all or part of ten seasons in the majors, in 1976 and 1978–1986. He was 6'0 feet tall and weighed 185 pounds. He batted right and threw right h ...

in exchange for

Sandy Alomar Sr. Santos "Sandy" Alomar Conde Sr. (; ; born October 19, 1943) is a Puerto Rican former second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for fourteen seasons. Alomar was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He is the father of former Ma ...

New York Yankees

After spending the season in triple A with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, Doyle split the season between the Yankees and Tacoma Yankees. Doyle wasn't originally expected to be part of the Yankees' post season roster, however, All-Star second baseman

Willie Randolph William Larry Randolph (born July 6, 1954) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played from 1975 to 1992 for six different teams, most notabl ...

had been dealing with cartilage problems in his left knee all season. A hamstring injury on September 29 sidelined him for the post season. Doyle was added in his place. Doyle went 2-for-5 with his first career RBI in game one of the

1978 American League Championship Series The 1978 American League Championship Series was a best-of-five playoff pitting the New York Yankees against the Kansas City Royals for the American League pennant and the right to represent the American League in the 1978 World Series. The Yanke ...

against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. With left handers going in games two and three,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Bob Lemon Robert Granville Lemon (September 22, 1920 – January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National Ba ...

went with right handed batting Fred Stanley at second. Doyle started the final game, and walked once in three

plate appearances In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

1978 World Series

Doyle took the field as a late inning defensive replacement, but for the most part, sat out game one of the World Series with left hander

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Ch ...

pitching. He went 1-for-3 in game two, and hitless in four

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s in game three. In game five, Doyle went 3-for-5 with two

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

in the Yankees' 12-2 dismantling of the Dodgers. After which, he was featured on the October 23, 1978 cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''. In game six, Doyle came to bat in the second

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

with runners on first and second, and the Yankees trailing 1-0. He doubled to drive in the first Yankee run. It was his first career

extra base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

. He drove in a second run in the sixth. For the 1978 World Series Champion New York Yankees, Doyle batted a team leading .438 with seven

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in sixteen

s, one double, four runs scored and two RBIs. In the post season overall, he had nine hits in 23 at bats. Compared to the 1978 regular season, in which he only had ten hits (.192 avg.) and six runs scored with no RBIs. He finished second to

Bucky Dent Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent (born Russell Earl O'Dey; November 25, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978 and ...

World Series Most Valuable Player Award The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The aw ...

balloting. Batting behind Doyle, the number nine hitter batted .417 with seven RBIs. The number eight and nine slots in the Yankees' batting order batted .400 with seven runs scored and nine RBIs.

Oakland A's

Regardless of his post season heroics, Doyle saw little action over the remainder of his Yankees career. He appeared in 54 games in the and seasons combined, and batted .159 with ten RBIs. On June 29, 1980, he hit his only career home run off the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Len Barker Leonard Harold Barker III (born July 7, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched the tenth perfect game in baseball history. Barker pitched with the Texas Rangers (1976–78), Cleveland Indians (1979–83) ...

. On November 3, 1980, the Yankees traded Stanley and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Mike Morgan. The Yankees sent Doyle to the A's to complete the deal, but

Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...

voided the transfer because Doyle was assigned to the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

at the time. On December 8, the A's selected Doyle in the Rule 5 draft. He began the season in a lefty/righty platoon with

Shooty Babitt Mack Neal "Shooty" Babitt (born March 9, 1959) is an American former second baseman who played for the Oakland Athletics during the 1981 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. After retiring as a player, Babitt became a baseball scout, and later w ...

at second base before being sidelined for three weeks by a hamstring injury seven games into the season. He returned in early May, and was batting only .125 on the season when

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

Otto Velez separated Doyle's shoulder attempting to break up a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

. He played 21 games in triple A, but never returned tot the majors. He split the season between the Blue Jays' and Indians' International League affiliates before going into coaching for .

Personal

He and his wife, Connie, have been married since . They have two children, Kirk and Kristin. His twin brother,

Blake Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...

, played minor league ball before becoming a major league

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. His brother, Denny (1944-2022), also played in the major leagues. In 1978, the Doyle brothers founded Doyle Baseball, a baseball school. In 1983, Doyle managed the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

Batavia Trojans Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

to a 32-43 record. In the 1990s, Doyle was diagnosed with leukemia, and was later on diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2015.

References

External links

ESPN videoBrian Doyle
at

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Brian 1954 births New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Syracuse Chiefs players Major League Baseball second basemen Baseball players from Kentucky Living people People from Glasgow, Kentucky People with Parkinson's disease Charleston Charlies players Columbus Clippers players Gastonia Rangers players Geneva Senators players Lynchburg Rangers players Pittsfield Rangers players Sacramento Solons players San Antonio Brewers players Tacoma Tigers players Tacoma Yankees players