Page 26 - 1975 BoSox

’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL 19
Asked for his memory of the daring ninth-inning dash for victory, Doyle replied thoughtfully. “First, let me say that Don Zimmer was the best third-base coach I ever had. He and I teamed up over the last months of the season, and we were able to run on a number of out elders with weaker arms. In Game Six, I was the runner and it was up to me to pick up the third-base coach’s direction. I didn’t do that. ere really isn’t anything more to say.
“Except when I see Pudge [Fisk], I tell him, ‘You ought to thank me. If I had scored the winning run you wouldn’t be nearly as famous.’ It’s almost as if it was meant to be.”
After taking a 3-0 lead in Game Seven, the Red Sox eventually bowed to the Reds, 4-3. In a World Series that included ve future Hall of Fame players, Denny Doyle was the only player on either team to hit safely in all seven games.
Like most of his teammates, Doyle was bitterly disap- pointed by the loss, but he was comforted by the Red Sox’ prospects for future success. “ at was a great team,” he said. “And we had a nucleus for years to come. We all thought we would get another chance in the World Series.”
But the 1976 Boston Red Sox never regained the magic of the 1975 season. e team started poorly and manager Darrell Johnson was red in midseason. Don Zimmer replaced Johnson, but failed to turn the team around. e Red Sox won only 83 games and nished a distant 151⁄2 games behind the division-leading Yankees.
In 1977 the Red Sox improved to 97 wins, but tied for second in the East Division with the Baltimore Orioles. e Yankees topped the East and went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the world cham- pionship. Doyle had played capably as the starting second baseman in both years, but the Red Sox were determined to make some moves in the o season.
When Doyle reported to spring training in Winter Haven, Florida, for the 1978 season, there was a familiar face contending for the second-base job. e Red Sox had acquired Jerry Remy from the Angels the previous
December. The Red Sox released Doyle on March 28, 1978.
Asked how it felt to lose his starting job to Jerry Remy twice, Doyle replied, “ e only feeling I have is wishing that he [ Jerry] never had that knee injury. He had a nice career. But it would have been an even better career, and a longer career, if he had never been hurt.”
“I was devastated when I was released by the Red Sox,” Doyle acknowledged. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I knew I could teach high-school science and I had some discussions about coaching in the minors. e only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to start a baseball school with my bothers.”
Doyle’s twin brothers, Brian and Blake, were also professional baseball players. Blake had been drafted by the Orioles and was playing in the minor leagues. Brian was in his rookie year with the Yankees. e Doyle Baseball School caught its rst break when Brian, playing in place of injured Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph, had a sensational World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Brian went 7-for-16, with a number of key hits, and just missed being named the Series MVP. During a telecast, announcer Joe Garagiola mentioned that the Doyle brothers were starting a baseball school in December. e timing couldn’t have been better.
“When our rst session started in Winter Haven, Florida, we had 150 to 175 youngsters at our camp. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we would touch over 750,000 youngsters, coaches, and parents over the next 27 years [as of 2005].”
As of 2014, Doyle Baseball was headquartered in Lakeland, Florida, but its reach extends far beyond. “We have trained so many instructors in our approach, that at any time in the spring there might be 15 to 20 sessions going on around the country that are part of our program,” Denny and his wife, Martha Carol Doyle, are longtime residents of Winter Haven, Florida.
Of his Red Sox teammates, Doyle said, “Luis Tiant was just a great pitcher, a great competitor. And I