Page 22 - 1975 BoSox

THE BOSTON RED SOX AC- quired second baseman Denny Doyle from the California Angels in mid-June
1975 to solidify the team’s in eld defense. But Denny Doyle did a lot more for the 1975 Red Sox than just shore up their defense.
Doyle batted a career-high .298 in 1975, batting .310 in 89 games with the Red Sox, and he put together a 22-game hitting streak that topped the American League that season. Most importantly, he brought a level of intensity and preparation that helped to bring the Red Sox within one game of their rst world championship in 57 years.
Interviewed in his Winter Haven, Florida, home, Doyle still remembered every detail of joining the Red Sox on June 13, 1975. “I remember when I was rst told about the deal. It was so exciting to go from a last-place team where I wasn’t playing much to a rst-place team where I would be a regular. I remember the writers covering the Angels asked for my reaction to the move, and I told them I was disappointed. I said I was disappointed because I couldn’t get an earlier ight to Kansas City to join the Red Sox.”1
Doyle, who was 31 years old when he joined the Red Sox, remembered being called in to meet with Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson and his coaches before his rst game with the team. “Darrell said to me, ‘You are here for your defense. Anything you do with the bat is a plus.’ en he asked me where I
liked to hit in the batting order. I told him that anywhere in the rst nine was ne with me. You could almost hear a sigh of relief. It was the beginning of a great relationship and a wonderful year.”
Robert Dennis Doyle was born on January 17, 1944, in Louisville, Kentucky. He grew up in the small town of Cave
City, about 75 miles south of Louisville. He said he had fond memories of growing up in a warm family environment as part of a small, closely-knit community.
Sports were an important activity in the Doyle house- hold. “My Dad was a good athlete but he had grown up working on his family’s farm so he didn’t get to pursue an athletic career. I can remember playing catch with my dad in the back yard when I was probably 3 years old.”
He said one moment with his father stood out in his memory. “My Dad was kind of soft-spoken, and when he said something you paid attention. When I was about 10 or 11, he said, ‘Son, if you are the rst one there and the last to leave and you don’t let anyone outwork you in between, you will do what you want to do and you will be successful.’ I never forgot those words. at’s what I did as a baseball player and that’s what I still do today.”
Doyle played all sports at Caverna High School and he attracted plenty of interest from the professional baseball scouts. But when he graduated from high school his rst love was basketball.
“I had chances to sign a professional baseball contract but they wanted to sign me as a pitcher and I didn’t wanttopitch,”Doyleremembered.“AndIhadbaseball scholarship o ers from schools like Florida State and Arizona. But my dream at that time was to become
the next Bob Cousy. Morehead State in Kentucky o ered me a basketball scholar- ship and I took it.”
By the end of his senior year at Morehead, Doyle had accepted the fact that his future was not in the NBA. But he was ready to pursue a career in professional baseball. His hopes were all but dashed when he wasn’t drafted in the amateur free-agent draft of 1965.
Denny Doyle
by Herb Crehan
15