| Duffy Dyer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1945-08-15)August 15, 1945 (age 80) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 21, 1968, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 15, 1981, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .221 |
| Home runs | 30 |
| Runs batted in | 173 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Donald Robert "Duffy"Dyer (born August 15, 1945) is anAmerican former professionalbaseball player andmanager. He played inMajor League Baseball as acatcher from1968 to1981, most prominently as a member of theNew York Mets team that won twoNational League pennants and won theWorld Series in1969. He also played for thePittsburgh Pirates,Montreal Expos, and theDetroit Tigers. After his playing career, Dyer coached with several major league organizations and served as aminor league manager.[1]
Dyer was born inDayton, Ohio. He was a three-sport athlete atCortez High School inPhoenix, Arizona, and played collegiately atArizona State University.[2] Dyer played alongsideSal Bando andRick Monday as a member of theArizona State Sun Devils baseball team that won the1965 College World Series.[3]
He was originally drafted by theMilwaukee Braves in the 38th round of the1965 Major League Baseball draft, but chose instead to stay in school. The following year, he was drafted by the Mets in the first round of the secondary phase of the draft.[4]
Dyer batted .211 with seventeenhome runs and 74runs batted in over three seasons in the Mets'farm system when he received a September call up in 1968. Hesingled off thePhiladelphia Phillies'Chris Short in his major league debut.[5]
His first major league home run was apinch hit three run shot in the1969 season opener.[6] He was one of three catchers managerGil Hodges carried on the1969 Miracle Mets team that went on to win theWorld Series.[7] Dyer grounded out toMark Belanger in game one of the1969 World Series in his onlypost seasonat bat.[8]
Dyer caught most of the Mets games in1972, as starterJerry Grote battled injuries.[9] He earnedNational League Player of the Week honors the week of June 12-18, when he went 8-for-22 with two home runs and eight RBIs.[10] In 94 games, he posted career-highs with eight home runs and 36 RBIs. He also led NL catchers indouble plays and in baserunnerscaught stealing, finished second inassists and, third infielding percentage.[11]
He followed his career year with a subpar1973, as he batted just .185 with one home run and nine RBIs. The highlight of his season came during a September 20 match-up atShea Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With first place in theNational League East on the line, Dyerdoubled inKen Boswell with two outs in the ninth inning to send the game intoextra innings.[12] The Mets would go on to defeat the Pirates in thirteen innings, in what would become known as the "Ball On the Wall" game in Mets folklore.[13]
Following the1974 season, Dyer was traded to the reigning NL East ChampionPirates forGene Clines to serve asAll-starManny Sanguillén's back up.[14] On August 3, Dyer hit a thirteenth inning home run to defeat his former team.[15] ThePirates repeated as division champions; Dyer drew a bases loaded walk offRawly Eastwick in his onlyplate appearance in the1975 National League Championship Series against theCincinnati Reds.[16]
Dyer was the Pirates catcher on August 9,1976, whenJohn Candelariapitched ano hitter against theLos Angeles Dodgers.[17] Following the season, the Pirates traded Sanguillén to theOakland Athletics for managerChuck Tanner.[18] Used in aplatoon system withEd Ott by Tanner, Dyer led National League catchers in 1977 with a .996fielding percentage, committing only twoerrors in 93 games. With Ott's emergence as a reliable bat atop the Pirates line up, Dyer's playing time fell substantially in1978. Following the season, Dyer signed as afree agent with the Montreal Expos.
Dyer saw limited duty in1979 behind futureHall of FamerGary Carter. Following his only season inMontreal, Dyer was traded to the Detroit Tigers forinfielderJerry Manuel. He saw limited playing time behind sluggerLance Parrish behind the plate. Despite batting just .185 in 126 plate appearances in1980, Dyer hit four home runs, his second most total in any season. He was released early in the1981 season, appearing in just two games as a defensive replacement without logging an at bat.
| Games | PA | AB | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | HBP | Avg. | OBP | Slg. | Fld% | CS% |
| 722 | 2266 | 1993 | 151 | 441 | 74 | 11 | 30 | 173 | 10 | 228 | 415 | 19 | .221 | .306 | .315 | .992 | 36% |
On July 11, 1972, Dyer made his only major league appearance at a position other than catcher. Facing theSan Francisco Giants atShea Stadium, managerYogi Berra moved Dyer toright field in the thirdinning following an injury tooutfielderJohn Milner.[19] The only ball hit to Dyer came in the seventh inning, when he misplayed a fly ball byChris Speier for a two baseerror that led to twounearned runs.[20]
Shortly after his playing career ended, Dyer accepted his first coaching job with theChicago Cubs.[21] With Dyer as their bullpen coach, theCubsbullpen went 20-30 with a 3.37earned run average.[22]
A year later, Dyer became the inaugural manager of theMinnesota Twins Class-AMidwest League affiliateKenosha Twins.[23] He led Kenosha to a 79-60 record andMidwest League Championship in 1985 to earn "Manager of the Year" honors.[24] Dyer would win back to backminor league championships, only in 1986, it would be in theTexas League with theMilwaukee Brewers affiliateEl Paso Diablos.[25]
After three seasons as a manager in the Brewers' farm system, the Brewers gave Dyer his first major league coaching job. He served as third base coach from1989 to1995. He was with the Oakland A’s from1996 to1998.
Dyer returned to managing in 1999 with theBluefield Orioles of theAppalachian League. After two seasons, he was with theBridgeport Bluefish of theAtlantic League for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. The Bluefish reached the playoffs in both seasons, winning the North Division Series in 2002.[26]
Dyer was a scout for the Mets in 2003 and 2004, and was manager of theErie SeaWolves in 2005 and 2006. He was hired by theSan Diego Padres in2007 as a catching coordinator.[27]
On November 18, 2013, Dyer returned to Kenosha to once again serve as the inaugural manager of a minor league franchise. This time, it was theKenosha Kingfish of theNorthwoods Leaguecollegiate summer baseball league.[28] He managed the Kingfish for six years, compiling a record of 226 wins and 205 losses, and a league championship in 2015.[29]
Dyer's nickname came from the popular radio showDuffy's Tavern. His mother had been listening to the show when she went into labor, and asked "How's Duffy?" after giving birth.[10][30] He and his wife, Lynn, have four children: Cami, Brian, Kevin & Megan.
In 1986, Dyer was inducted into theArizona State University Sports Hall of Fame.[2] In the 1998 motion picture "Into My Heart", Ben (Rob Morrow) refers to Duffy Dyer as "a cultural icon".
· Baseball Almanac