Bobby Doerr (1986)


Date of Birth: 4/7/1918
Date of Death: 11/13/2017
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California

Bobby Doerr started his professional baseball career in the minor leagues in 1934. He played in the Pacific Coast League in 1934 and 1935. His contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox in November, 1935.

Boston Red Sox

Doerr made his first start in the major leagues in 1937 with the Red Sox, playing in 55 games with them. In 1938, his first full season in the major leagues, he batted .289 with 147 hits, 26 doubles, and 80 RBIs in 145 games. He batted .318 in 127 games in 1939. He had 167 hits, 28 doubles, 12 home runs, and 73 RBIs.

Doerr had career highs in hits and in doubles in 1940. He batted .291 with 173 hits, 37 doubles, 22 home runs, and 105 RBIs in 151 games. He also played well defensively, leading all AL second basemen in double plays turned with 118 and in putouts with 401.

Doerr had average seasons in 1941 and 1942. He batted .282 with 141 hits, 28 doubles, 16 home runs, and 93 RBIs in 132 games in 1941. The following season, he had 158 hits, 35 doubles, 15 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a .290 batting average in 144 games.

Doerr played in a career high and league leading 155 games in 1943. He had 163 hits, 32 doubles, 16 home runs, 75 RBIs, and a .270 batting average. Defensively, he led AL second basemen in assists (490), double plays (132), and putouts (415).

In 1944, Doerr was named the Sporting News MVP and the Sporting News Player of the Year. He had a career high batting average of .325 in 125 games. He had 152 hits, 30 doubles, 10 triples, and 81 RBIs.

Doerr's career was interrupted by service in the United States army in 1945. He returned to the Red Sox in 1946. That year, he batted .271 with 158 hits, 34 doubles, 18 home runs, and 116 RBIs in 151 games. He again led AL second basemen in assists with 483, double plays turned with 129, and putouts with 420.

Doerr's batting average dropped to .258 in 1947. He had 145 hits, 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and 95 RBIs in 146 games. He once more led AL second basemen in assists (466) and in double plays turned (118).

Doerr played better offensively in 1948 and 1949. He batted .285 in 1948, and .309 the following season. He had a career high 27 home runs in 1948. He also had 150 hits, 23 doubles, and 111 RBIs in 140 games. In 1949, he had 167 hits, 30 doubles, 18 home runs, and 109 RBIs. He walked 83 times in 1948, while striking out only 49 times. The next year was even better, with 75 walks to just 33 strikeouts.

In 1950, Doerr led the American League in triples with a career high of 11. He also had career highs in home runs (27) and RBIs (120), and he batted .294 in 149 games. He also played well defensively, again leading AL second basemen in putouts with 443.

Doerr batted .289 in 106 games in 1951, his last season as a major league player. He finished the season with 116 hits, 21 doubles, 13 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 33 strikeouts to 57 walks.

Awards

  • Sporting News MVP
  • Sporting News Player of the Year

Career Statistics

Statistics for Doerr in 13 full seasons (1938-1944, 1946-1961) in the major leagues include:

  • 9 seasons with 150 or more hits, with highs of 172 in 1950 and 173 in 1940
  • 6 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 37 in 1940
  • 4 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 11 in 1950
  • 3 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 27 in 1948 and 1950
  • 6 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 120 in 1950
  • 3 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .325 in 1944

Career batting statistics for Doerr include:

  • 1,865 games played
  • 2,042 hits
  • 381 doubles
  • 89 triples
  • 223 home runs
  • 1,247 RBIs
  • 608 strikeouts to 809 walks
  • .288 batting average
  • .362 on-base percentage
  • .823 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Doerr at second base include:

  • 1,852 games played
  • 214 errors
  • 5,710 assists
  • 1,507 double plays
  • 4,928 putouts
  • .980 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

Several years after retiring as a major league baseball player, Doerr returned to the game as a scout for the Red Sox (1957-1966). In 1967, he became the first base coach for the Red Sox, a position he held until 1969.

In 1977, Doerr became a hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, and he stayed in that position until 1981.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Bobby Doerr
ESPN - Bobby Doerr
Baseball Reference - Bobby Doerr

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