Bill Doran (second baseman)
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William Donald Doran (born May 28, 1958) is a former second baseman in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
who played from 1982 to 1993 with the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
,
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
and
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
. He was the bench coach for the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
from 2005 to 2007 and posted a 4-6 record as the Royals' interim manager to close the 2006 season. Doran rejoined the Reds on November 2, 2007, as the minor league infielding/baserunning coordinator. After previously serving as the minor league field coordinator, Doran moved into the role of special assistant to the general manager, player performance role for the Reds for the 2019 season.


Early life

Doran attended
Mount Healthy High School Mt. Healthy Jr/Sr High School is a public middle and high school in Mount Healthy, Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of n ...
and played baseball at the
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in
Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
. At Mt. Healthy, he starred in baseball, basketball, and football, leading the Owls to several league championships as an All-League quarterback. In 1977, he played
collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
with the
Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
.


Baseball career

Doran was selected by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the 1979 draft. Doran came into the majors as a September call-up in the 1982 season. That year, he would play in 26 games while batting .278 on 27 hits. For the 1983 season, he would be the starting second baseman for the Astros, which started with Opening Day. He would play in 154 games and having a batting line of a .271 batting average to go with a .371 on-base percentage (OBP). In the fourth game of the year, he recorded his first career home run off
John Candelaria John Robert Candelaria (born November 6, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "The Candy Man", he played in MLB during the years 1975–1993 for eight teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, New York Mets, New Y ...
of the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
on April 10. Doran led the team in walks with 86 (with eleven being intentional, also a team high), which worked in contrast to his 67 strikeouts; dubiously, he would steal twelve bases but also be caught stealing twelve times. It was the first of eight times that he would have more walks than strikeouts in a season; he finished fifth in the
Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
, which went to
Darryl Strawberry Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in th ...
. He would decrease in productivity slightly in 1984, playing in 147 games while batting .271. He walked 66 times and struck out 69 times while having 143 hits and 41 runs batted in (RBI). Dubiously, while he was second in a general amount of offensive categories to
José Cruz José Cruz Dilan (born August 8, 1947) nicknamed Cheo, is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach and baseball front office executive. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1970 to 1988, most prominently a ...
, he led the Astros in times caught stealing (12). For the following season, he batted .287 while playing 148 games, for which he would have 71 walks to go with 69 strikeouts. He led the Astros in runs, hits, walks, stolen bases and also times caught stealing. He received votes for the Most Valuable Player award. The Astros, having experienced a downturn since the back-to-back playoff berths in 1980 & 1981, finally bounced back in 1986, and Doran was there to contribute. He played in 145 games while batting .276, stealing 42 bases alongside 81 walks to 57 strikeouts. He would lead the team in runs, stolen bases, and perhaps most dubiously in times caught stealing (19, which led the league). Doran finished eleventh in the voting for NL
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
that year In the 1986 National League Championship Series, he would have a cold bat for most of the series, having six hits on 29 plate appearances. Doran hit a home run off
Ron Darling Ronald Maurice Darling Jr. (born August 19, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a m ...
in the second inning to give the Astros a 4-0 lead. However, the team could not hold it together for the last four innings and lost 6-5. In Game 5, with the series tied at two, he would hit a groundout with two runners on and one out in the fifth inning that scored the first run of the game, although the Mets would win it in the ninth on a walk-off hit in the 12th inning. In the pivotal Game 6, often thought of as one of the best postseason games played of the season, Doran would have a small part in the overall result. Doran had a single and was then forced out at second base in the first inning that would later see four straight Astros get on base and result in a 3-0 initial lead. The Mets would tie the game and the teams dueled it out until the 16th inning. Doran, with a runner on first and one out while trailing 7-4, hit a single to try and continue a potential rally. He would score the 6th run of the game for the Astros on a Glenn Davis single, but the next batter in
Kevin Bass Kevin Charles Bass (born May 12, 1959) is a former American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers (1982), Houston Astros (1982–1989, 1993–1994), San Francisco Giants (1990–1992) ...
was struck out by
Jesse Orosco Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957) is a Mexican American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who holds the major league record for career pitching appearances, having pitched in 1,252 games. He pitched most notably for the New ...
to end the game and series. Before the 1987 season, Doran lost an arbitration case with the Astros, as he had sought a raise of $275,000 from his previous salary (which was $550,000), with the result being that he was paid only $625,000. He had his best year that season, as he led the NL in games played (162), batted .283, hit a career high 16
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s, had a career high .992 fielding percentage, and scored a career high 79 runs. Doran however would recoil in the following year. He batted .248 while playing in 132 games while having 65 walks to 60 strikeouts. After the season, Doran underwent
rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...
surgery. He had much of the same success with the following year, as he batted .219 but managed to play in 142 games while having 22 stolen bases and 59 walks to 63 strikeouts. He recorded his 1,000th hit on June 16, doing so on a home run off
Ed Whitson Eddie Lee Whitson (born May 19, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed. Pittsburgh Pirates Whitson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft out o ...
against the
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
. For the 1990 season, it was to be his last with the Astros. On August 30, he was traded for Terry McGriff, Keith Kaiser, and Butch Henry to the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
, his hometown team. He had turned down a trade to the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
the day before. Although the Reds won the World Series that year, Doran had back surgery the day the team clinched the division pennant and he missed the rest of the season. "I didn't feel like I belonged. I was just a rented player", Doran said. In a combined season of 126 games, he batted .300 while having 23 stolen bases with 79 walks to 58 strikeouts. He would sign with the Reds for the next two seasons. He played 111 games the following year, batting .280 while having 46 walks to 39 strikeouts. His 1992 season was his last as a mostly-every week player, since he appeared in 132 games while batting .235, while Bip Roberts emerged as a standout player to use on second base more so than Doran. He had 64 walks to 40 strikeouts. A purchase from Milwaukee in January 1993 did not lend itself to increased time, as he would play just 28 games for the Brewers while dealing with injuries. He batted .217 while having just one stolen base. Doran had a career .266
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
, but had four seasons when he placed in the top 10 in the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
in
bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...
. Doran never made an All-Star team, but was extraordinarily popular at The
Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
and admired for his hustle and ferocity, reminiscent of Cincinnati native
Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...
. He was widely considered the best Astros second baseman in team history until the emergence of
Craig Biggio Craig Alan Biggio (; born December 14, 1965) is an American former second baseman, outfielder and catcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career from 1988 through 2007 for the Houston Astros. A seven-time National League (NL) All ...
, who eclipsed Doran in offensive statistics but never approached Doran's defensive capacity. He is among the career leaders in many offensive categories for the Astros. He is top 10 in at bats (8th), runs (8th), hits (8th), singles (8th), triples (10th), total bases (9th), and bases on balls (6th). He is one of thirteen Astros to have collected 1,000 hits. Doran became a minor league instructor for the Reds in 1995. In 1999 and 2000, Doran served as the organization's minor league field coordinator, director of player development and assistant to the general manager. He became a major league coach for the Reds in November 2000. After a 96-loss season in 2001, the Reds did not renew the contracts of Doran or third base coach
Ron Oester Ronald John Oester (born May 5, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played his entire MLB career with the Cincinnati Reds from 1978 to 1990. He is a native of Cincinnati. Baseball career Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds ...
. Doran joined the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
coaching staff in 2005 and became their bench coach the following year. He is currently a special assistant to the Reds.


Personal life

Doran resides in Cincinnati. He has three children, Dana, Amy and Ryan. His son Ryan, who is named after Doran's teammate
Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...
, was a player in the Reds' minor-league system, and is pursuing an acting and writing career. His sister Denise was a
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (sometimes initialized as DCC, and officially nicknamed "America's Sweethearts") are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team. History 1960s During a game between the C ...
.


See also

*
Houston Astros award winners and league leaders This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Houston Astros, an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL), having moved to the ...
*
List of Houston Astros team records The Houston Astros are a professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. They compete in the Western Division of Major League Baseball's (MLB) American League (AL). The Astros began play during the 1962 MLB season as an expansion team and w ...
* List of Major League Baseball career assists as a second baseman leaders * List of Major League Baseball career games played as a second baseman leaders *
List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a second baseman leaders In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by PO or Types of batted balls in baseball, fly out when appropriate) is given to a defensive player who records an out (baseball), out by tag out, tagging a base running, runner with the ball when he is n ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders In baseball statistics, a stolen base is credited to a baserunner when he successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is throwing the ball to home plate. Under Rule 7.01 of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Official Rules, a runner acqu ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doran, Bill 1958 births Living people Major League Baseball second basemen Cincinnati Reds players Houston Astros players Milwaukee Brewers players Kansas City Royals managers Miami RedHawks baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Kansas City Royals coaches Cincinnati Reds coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Gulf Coast Astros players Daytona Beach Astros players Columbus Astros players Tucson Toros players Stockton Ports players El Paso Diablos players Baseball players from Cincinnati