| Slow Joe Doyle | |
|---|---|
 American Tobacco Company incorrectly identified Doyle as aNational League pitcher in thisT206baseball card issued in 1909[1] | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1881-08-25)August 25, 1881 Clay Center, Kansas, U.S. | |
| Died: November 21, 1947(1947-11-21) (aged 66) Tannersville, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 25, 1906, for the New York Highlanders | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 25, 1910, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 22–21 |
| Earned run average | 2.85 |
| Strikeouts | 209 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Judd Bruce Doyle (September 15, 1881 – November 21, 1947) was a right-handedMajor League Baseballpitcher from1906 to1910 for theNew York Highlanders andCincinnati Reds. Doyle got his nickname"Slow Joe" early in hisbaseball career because he was a very slow working pitcher. He would take a lot of time between pitches, often stalling for notable amounts of time.[2]
Upon graduation fromClay Center High School in May1901, Doyle began pitching inEllsworth, Kansas. He caught the eye ofTed Sullivan, who recruited him for theFort Worth Panthers of the Class DTexas League in1902. In 1902, he also pitched for theSouthern Association'sNew Orleans Pelicans, going 21-18 between his two squads.
In1903, he andErnie Baker formed a one-two punch that pitched the Baton Rouge Red Sticks to a 74–42 record, and theCotton States League championship.[citation needed] The1904 squad sputtered to a 49–63 record,[citation needed] however, and partway through the season, Doyle departed the team with an 8–9 record. Shortly afterwards, he began pitching for the Class BCentral LeagueWheeling Stogies. On August 21,1906, Wheeling sold his contract to the New York Highlanders.
He wants eight to ten days between the games in which he works. He is a slow chap, anyhow. He claims that his arm needs rest. He is one of the greatest pitchers there is.
Doyleshutout theCleveland Naps in his major league debut on August 25, 1906. He followed this with a shutout of theWashington Senators on August 30. He was the first 20th century pitcher to hurl a shutout in each of his first two starts, and it had been accomplished only twice before he did it (it has since been accomplished 11 times).[3] Only threeAmerican League pitchers have thrown shutouts in their first two big league appearances since Doyle did it.[4] Over the remainder of the season, Doyle appeared in seven more games, losing one.
The following season Doyle went 11–11 with a 2.65earned run average in 29 games (23starts). He completed 15 games, and his threehome runs allowed were the fifth most in the league. His 4.37strikeouts per nine innings ratio was the sixth best in the league.
In1908, Doyle was the Highlanders' opening day starter. However, for the rest of the season he appeared in only 11 more games, starting only four. He went 1–1 with a 2.63 ERA. He appeared in 17 games in1909, making 15 starts. He went 8–6 with a 2.58 ERA, throwing three shutouts.
Doyle took the losses in his first start of the1910 season. Though he pitched effectively through seveninnings, thePhiladelphia Athletics plated five runs in their final at bat.[5] In his next start, Doyle faced nine batters, and retired just one, giving up fivehits and twowalks.[6] He made one more appearance for the Highlanders against theBoston Red Sox on May 9.[7]
On May 31 the Cincinnati Reds purchased his contract for $2,000. He was relegated to "mop up duty" with the Reds, closing five games, all losses.
Despite starting out as a promising young pitcher, Doyle won only 22 games in his five-year career. He lost 21 games, and he posted an ERA of 2.85. In 75 appearances (50 starts), he walked 147 batters and struck out 209. As a batter, he hit .163 in 135 career at-bats.
Doyle married Mary Louise Lackey in 1910. They had three sons and lived inTannersville, New York, where Doyle owned Doyle's Garage automobile repair shop. He died in Tannersville on November 21, 1947, at the age of 66, and was buried at theEvergreen Cemetery in Tannersville.
Doyle was one of 392 baseball players featured on aCigarette card issued by theAmerican Tobacco Company incigarette and loosetobacco packs from 1909 to 1911. Sixty years after the card was first issued,baseball card collector Larry Fritsch noticed that there were two different versions of the Doyle card. One mistakenly stating that he played for 'N.Y. NAT'L', and a second that simply said 'N.Y.' Presumably, the printer mixed Joe up withLarry Doyle, who played for theNew York Giants in theNational League. Upon realizing his error, the printer merely removed the NAT'L from the caption and printed corrected versions of the card. While the corrected version of the card is fairly common, there are believed to be only eight authentic error cards in existence.[8]
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