Page 24 - 1975 BoSox

’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL 17
had captured the division the two previous years. And the New York Yankees, who had nished two games behind the Orioles the previous year, were more highly rated than the Red Sox.
e Red Sox had a poor April, nishing the month with a 7-9 record and a fth-place position. But the team improved in May, and a 6-0 win over the Angels on May 24 at Fenway Park put the Red Sox in rst place in the division. Boston’s pitching was better than predicted, and the “Gold Dust Twins,” Jim Rice and Fred Lynn, were o to a great start.
For Doyle, who was in the visitors’ clubhouse with the Angels that day, the season was o to a terrible start. He had lost his starting job at second base to a rookie from Somerset, Massachusetts, by the name of Jerry Remy. “It was a tough time for me,” Doyle re- called. “ e Angels were playing very poorly and I was hardly playing. It was not a good situation.”
e Red Sox compiled a record of 16-9 for May and held on to rst place in the East. e team continued to play well into June, and it became clear that the Red Sox were a legitimate contender in their division. General manager Dick O’Connell concluded that they needed an upgrade from the injury-prone Doug Gri n at second base in order to compete with the Orioles and Yankees. On June 14 the Red Sox acquired Denny Doyle from the Angels.
“I remember walking into the lobby of the Red Sox hotel in Kansas City and Don Zimmer said to Darrell Johnson, ‘I told you he would be here.’ Apparently Darrell had speculated that I would take some time to look after personal business. I was so happy to be joining a winning team and getting a chance to play, there was no way I was going to miss a minute.”
And Denny Doyle didn’t waste any time making an impact on his new team. He made a game-saving defensive play in his rst game and hit a key home run in his second game.
“In my rst game there was a ball hit up the middle and I dove for it and came up with it. I threw the runner out from my knees,” he recalled. Asked if he
remembered the home run, Doyle responded, “I only hit 16 home runs at the big-league level so I remember them all. at one came on a hanging slider from Dennis Leonard. It was nice to contribute right away.”
e Red Sox rattled o six straight wins after Doyle was inserted in the lineup, and he felt comfortable right away. “ at was a great team and it was easier for me to hit being surrounded by great players. I was batting second with hitters like Yaz, Fisk, Lynn, and Rice behind me. It made me a better hitter. ey let me put the hit-and-run on myself, and there was one point where we made that work seven times in a row.”
It took Doyle a while to get used to the passion of the Red Sox fans. “I had heard about it, and I had read about it. But until you play in front of those fans day after day you don’t realize how much they care about their team. Red Sox fans are just unbelievable.”
On July 12, just before the All-Star break, Doyle hit safely against the Texas Rangers in a 10-4 Red Sox win. at began a hitting streak that saw him hit safely in 22 games. During his streak the Red Sox won 17 times and lost only ve. Doyle downplayed this per- sonal streak: “It was nice, and I’m proud of it. But it doesn’t really mean anything because we didn’t reach our goal that season. If we had won the World Series then it would really be something to talk about.”
e Red Sox continued their hold on rst place and played consistent winning baseball throughout August. When the team returned to Boston in early September after a disappointing road trip, Doyle was shocked to see a sports-page headline that read, “Choke Again!”
“I went into the clubhouse the next day and I said to Pudge [Fisk], ‘Am I in the right city?’ I showed him the headline and told him they couldn’t be talking aboutus.Hesaid,‘You’llgetusedtoit. at’sjusthow they are here.’”
A more pleasant memory for Doyle was the time he spent with Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey. “I was always in the clubhouse early and he was usually around, so we got to talk. What a gentleman. He was a ‘man’s man.’ I really enjoyed him.”