Light-Hitting Denny Doyle Owned Pitching Great Bob Gibson

Former Phillies second baseman Denny Doyle died this week at the age of 78. Denny was signed as a free agent out of Morehead State University in his native Kentucky. Doyle was disappointed not be drafted but was spotted by former Phillies outfielder and scout Mel Clark who convinced the Phillies to take a chance on the scrappy 5'9" Doyle. Denny worked his way through the Phillies farm system with stops at Spartanburg, Tidewater, Reading and Eugene, before making his debut with the Phillies in 1970. He was paired with another rookie, shortstop Larry Bowa, to form a fine double play combination. Doyle had four decent years with the Phillies, providing solid defense and a .240 batting average. He bought a home in the Philadelphia area and settled in with his wife and three children.

At the end of the 1973 season, the Phillies traded Doyle to the California Angels to complete a trade for Billy Grabarkowitz. California traded Doyle to the Boston Red Sox in 1975 and Doyle had his greatest season, hitting .310 with the Sox and helping lead them to the American League pennant. In the post-season Doyle started every game and had hits in all but one of them, as the Red Sox eventually fell to the Cincinnati Reds in that classic World Series. Doyle retired in 1977 after two more seasons with the Bosox.

Doyle was chiefly known as a good defensive second sacker and contact hitter with little power. While he only averaged .240 in his years with the Phillies, in one of those strange anomalies that make baseball so compelling, little Denny Doyle simply owned future Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson. In 31 plate appearances against the most dominant right-handed pitcher of the era, Doyle had 13 hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch, for an astounding .464 batting average.

In Doyle's first-time facing Gibson, on May 23, 1970, the rookie went 2-for-4 with two singles as the Phillies and Jim Buning fell to Gibson's St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1. The next time Doyle faced Gibson, on July 30, 1971, Denny had one of the finest offensive games of his career. Batting leadoff, Doyle reached base in the first when Gibson drilled him with a 1-2 pitch. In the third inning, Doyle got revenge for the bruise by smashing a homerun over the right field fence in Veterans Stadium to get the Phillies on the board. It was one of a total of only 16 home runs Doyle hit in his career. Doyle then singled in his next three at bats against Gibby, the final single pulling the Phillies to within one run at 4-3. Unfortunately, Bowa grounded out to end the game. Doyle was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

On April 19, 1972, Gibson squared off against his former teammate and new Phillies pitcher, Steve Carlton. Carlton bested his old mate in a classic pitcher's duel, 1-0. Doyle went two-for-two with a walk. In his next two games against Gibson in 1972, Doyle came back to earth a bit, going 0-for-7 with just one walk to show for his efforts. The Phillies lost both games. 

On April 22, 1973, Mike Schmidt hit a ninth inning walk off home run to beat Gibson 2-1. Doyle was 1-for-3 in the game. On June 26, Doyle was back at it, going 3-for-4 against Gibson (3-for-5 overall), with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI, as the Phillies romped, 10-3. Dick Ruthven shut the Cardinals down on two hits in besting Gibson, 2-1 on July 1. Doyle was 1-for-3 in his final career appearances against Gibson. That fall he was traded out of the National League for good.

Denny Doyle was anything but an intimidating presence at the plate, but for reasons known only to the baseball gods, he turned into Ty Cobb when he came to bat against one of the most intimidating pitchers baseball has ever known. I am sure Gibson raised a glass in mute celebration when the Phillies traded him away.

RIP Denny.