Donald Robert "Duffy" Dyer (born August 15, 1945) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player who is the

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 ...

of the

Kenosha Kingfish The Kenosha Kingfish are a baseball team that plays in the collegiate summer Northwoods League. Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kingfish play their home games at Simmons Field. History Kenosha has been the home of multiple minor league baseball ...

of the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college el ...

collegiate summer baseball league. He played in

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), ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

(

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

– 1974), Pittsburgh Pirates (

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

– 1978),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

), and Detroit Tigers ( 1980–

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

Playing career

Dyer was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

. He was a three-sport athlete at

Cortez High School Cortez High School is located in Phoenix, Arizona at 8828 N 31st Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85051. It is part of the Glendale Union High School District. The mascot is the Colt and the school colors are primarily black and white with red used as an alter ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, and played collegiately at Arizona State University. Dyer played alongside

Sal Bando Salvatore Leonard Bando (born February 13, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from to , most prominently as the team captain for the Oakland Athletic ...

and

Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...

as a member of the

Arizona State Sun Devils baseball The Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program at the Arizona State University (ASU) is part of the Pac-12 Conference. Since it became a member of the Pac-12, it had the highest winning percentage, at .681, of all schools that participate in Di ...

team that won the

1965 College World Series The 1965 NCAA University Division baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1965 NCAA University Division baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the Col ...

. He was drafted by the Mets in the 1966 Major League Baseball draft and backed up

Jerry Grote Gerald Wayne Grote (born October 6, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Mets, catching every inning of the franchise's first two World ...

as a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets team that went on to win 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 ...

. Dyer caught most of the Mets games in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, as Grote battled injuries. In 94 games, he posted career-highs with 8

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 36

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 ba ...

. He also led National League catchers in double plays and in baserunners caught stealing, finished second in assists and, third in fielding percentage. In

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, Dyer was part of the Mets team that staged another miraculous season when they came from last place on August 30 to win the

National League Eastern Division The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

pennant. In October 1974, Dyer was traded to the Pirates for

Gene Clines Eugene Anthony Clines (October 6, 1946 – January 27, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1970 to 1979, most prominently as a member of the Pittsburgh Pir ...

. He backed up

Manny Sanguillén Manuel De Jesus Sanguillén Magan, better known as Manny Sanguillén or "Sangy" (born March 21, 1944), is a Panamanian former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in and from through , most notably as a ...

and helped the Pirates win the

. Dyer was the Pirates catcher on August 9,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, when

John Candelaria John Robert Candelaria (born November 6, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "The Candy Man", he played in MLB during the years 1975–1993 for eight teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, New York Mets, New Y ...

pitched a

no hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

against 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 ...

. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

the Pirates traded away Sanguillen, and Dyer shared catching duties with

Ed Ott Nathan Edward Ott (born July 11, 1951), nicknamed "Otter", is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1974 to 1981, most notably as a member of the Pittsbur ...

in a

platoon system A platoon system in baseball or American football is a method for substituting players in groups (platoons), to keep complementary players together during playing time. Baseball In baseball, a platoon is a method of sharing playing time, where ...

. Dyer led National League catchers in 1977 with a .996 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in 93 games.

Career statistics

In a fourteen-year major league career, Dyer played in 722 games and had 441 hits in 1,993

at bats 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 ...

for a .221

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, along with 151 runs, 74 doubles, 11 triples, 30 home runs, 173

, 10 stolen bases, 228 walks, a .306 on-base percentage, a .315 slugging percentage, 627

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

, 16 sacrifice bunts, 10

sacrifice flies In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

and 49

intentional walk In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...

s. In he led National League catchers in range factor and baserunners caught stealing, and finished second in assists. In 1986, Dyer was inducted into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame.

Managing and coaching career

After his playing career, Dyer worked as a coach for the Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Oakland Athletics. As a minor league

, he led the Class-A

Kenosha Twins The Kenosha Twins were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1984 to 1992. They began play in the Midwest League in 1984 when the Wisconsin Rapids Twins relocated. The team played their home games at Simmons Fie ...

to a

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

championship in 1985. In 1986 he managed the

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

to a first-place finish in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. Dyer was hired by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in as a catching coordinator. On November 18, 2013, Dyer was announced as the inaugural manager for the

of the

collegiate summer baseball league. He managed the Kingfish for six years, compiling a record of 226 wins and 205 losses, and a league championship in 2015.

Popular culture

In the film "''

Into My Heart ''Into My Heart'' is a 1998 motion picture featuring Rob Morrow and Claire Forlani. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 9, 1998, the drama documents a love triangle involving a woman and two childhood friends, focusing on the ...

''", Ben (Rob Morrow) refers to Duffy Dyer as "a cultural icon". Dyer's nickname came from the popular radio show ''

Duffy's Tavern ''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio situation comedy that ran for a decade on several networks ( CBS, 1941–42; NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast. The program often featured ...

''. His mother had been listening to the show when she went into labor, and asked "How's Duffy?" after giving birth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Duffy 1945 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball coaches from Ohio Baseball players from Dayton, Ohio Chicago Cubs coaches Detroit Tigers players Greenville Mets players Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players New York Mets players New York Mets scouts Oakland Athletics coaches Pittsburgh Pirates players Tidewater Tides players Williamsport Mets players Florida Instructional League Mets players