| Doyle Alexander | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1950-09-04)September 4, 1950 (age 75) Cordova, Alabama, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 26, 1971, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1989, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 194–174 |
| Earned run average | 3.76 |
| Strikeouts | 1,528 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is an American formerpitcher inMajor League Baseball (MLB) who played for theLos Angeles Dodgers,Baltimore Orioles,New York Yankees,Texas Rangers,Atlanta Braves,San Francisco Giants,Toronto Blue Jays, andDetroit Tigers.
Doyle Lafayette Alexander was born on September 4, 1950, in Cordova, Alabama.[1] Alexander attendedWoodlawn High School inBirmingham, Alabama. He later attendedJefferson College inHillsboro, Missouri.[2]
After being drafted by theDodgers in 1968 in the 9th round,[1] Alexander debuted in the big leagues in1971 with the team.[3] He was acquired along withBob O'Brien,Sergio Robles andRoyle Stillman by theBaltimore Orioles from the Dodgers forFrank Robinson andPete Richert at theWinter Meetings on December 2, 1971.[4] He enjoyed his first winning season with theOrioles in 1973 when he went 12–8 with a 3.86 ERA.
Alexander was traded along withKen Holtzman,Elrod Hendricks,Grant Jackson andJimmy Freeman from theOrioles to theNew York Yankees forRick Dempsey,Scott McGregor,Tippy Martinez,Rudy May andDave Pagan at thetrade deadline on June 15, 1976.[5] He went 10–5 to help the Yankees win theAmerican League East division. He did not pitch during theAmerican League Championship Series, so he was tapped to start Game 1 of theWorld Series against theCincinnati Reds, which he lost.
Alexander took advantage of the advent offree agency by signing with theTexas Rangers on November 23, 1976. He rejected the Yankees over the team's refusal to guarantee him twenty starts a season.[6] He enjoyed one good year before falling apart. He would then join theAtlanta Braves andSan Francisco Giants after his stint with Texas. It would not be until he signed with theToronto Blue Jays during the 1983 season, after being released by the New York Yankees, that he would return to form.[citation needed]
The Blue Jays were on the rise in the mid-1980s, and Alexander was an instrumental part of their success, winning 17 games in both1984 and1985, including the division-clinching win over theYankees in 1985. In theALCS, however, he went 0–1 with an 8.71earned run average in two starts as the Blue Jays fell to theKansas City Royals in seven games.[citation needed] When Alexander negotiated his contract with the Blue Jays, the team refused to pay Alexander if he injured himself whilehunting. Toronto lawyerGord Kirke worked out a compromise in which Alexander would collect money while hurt, "only if he was following all hunting regulations and wearing anorange hunting jacket".[7]
A slow start the next year resulted in Alexander being traded[8] to theAtlanta Braves, who dealt him in turn to the contendingDetroit Tigers midway through the 1987 season for a then unknown minor-leaguer namedJohn Smoltz.[9] The Tigers got more than they could have possibly hoped for in Alexander, who went 9–0 with a 1.53 ERA to propel the Tigers to the division title. However, he struggled again[10] in theALCS, going 0–2 with a 10.00 ERA, bringing his postseason totals to 0–5 with an 8.38 ERA. The following year, Alexander went 14–11 with a 4.32 ERA, earning his onlyAll-Star appearance.[11] In1989, his performance declined (6–18, 4.44 ERA) in part due to pitching with a fractured jaw. He retired following the season.[citation needed] Although Alexander performed fairly well for the Tigers, the Braves ended up getting the better end of the trade in the long run.[12] Smoltz would go on to pitch twenty years with the Braves and became aHall of Famer. The trade is now considered one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. It been cited many times since 1987 as an example of a deal in which each team sought something different and received it. While the Tigers wanted Alexander to bolster them in the short-term (which he did by helping them reach the playoffs in 1987 and pitching well for Detroit in 1988), the Braves wanted Smoltz as part of their long-term rebuilding plans (which he did by having a long Hall of Fame career and contributing to Atlanta's rise as one of MLB's most enduringly successful franchises since 1991).
· Baseball Almanac
