MVP Profile: Larry Doyle, 1912

Second Baseman, New York Giants

Age:  26 (July 31)

6^th season with Giants

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 165

Prior to 1912:

A native of Caseyville, Illinois, Doyle followed his father into coal mining for five years while playing semipro baseball on weekends. He quit mining in 1906 to play for the Mattoon-Charleston Canaries of the Class D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League (or Kitty League) where he appeared in 91 games and batted .225 with 11 triples. Doyle started 1907 with the Springfield Senators of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League where he played third base and hit .290 in 66 games. Several major league teams engaged in a bidding war to purchase his contract from Springfield. The Giants won with a then-record $4500 offer for the minor league star. Doyle joined the Giants in July where he was installed at second base, replacing 38-year-old veteran Tommy Corcoran. Appearing in 69 games over the remainder of the season Doyle batted .260 with 16 RBIs. His fielding performance was inconsistent as he adjusted to second base and he was charged with 26 errors and had a .917 fielding percentage. Doyle entered the 1908 season with New York fans and newspapers questioning whether he was worth the high bonus the club paid for him and he showed improvement as he hit .308 with 16 doubles, 9 triples, and 33 RBIs, although he still topped NL second basemen with 33 errors. He was knocked out of the lineup due to a severe spiking in September that left him on crutches for virtually the remainder of the season. The scrappy Doyle had another strong season in 1909 as he led the league with 172 hits and batted .302. He also compiled 27 doubles, 11 triples, and 6 home runs in addition to stealing 31 bases and in the field he led all NL second basemen with 292 put outs and 51 double plays. Known as “Laughing Larry” due to his affable personality he continued to be productive in 1910 by hitting .285 with 21 doubles, 14 triples, 8 home runs, 39 stolen bases, and 69 RBIs. Named the team captain Doyle filled in for irascible manager John McGraw on occasions when he was ejected or suspended. The Giants won the NL pennant in 1911 as Doyle contributed a .310 batting average while also leading the circuit in triples (25). He also finished in the top five with 13 home runs, 102 runs scored, and a .527 slugging percentage.  In the World Series loss to the Philadelphia A’s Doyle batted .304 and scored the winning run for the Giants in Game 5. Well-established as a top hitting second baseman, he continued to have occasional difficulties in the field.

1912 Season Summary

Appeared in 143 games

2B – 143, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 629 [12, tied with Dots Miller]

At Bats – 558 [8, tied with Dick Hoblitzell & Honus Wagner]

Runs – 98 [7]

Hits – 184 [4]

Doubles – 33 [4, tied with Dots Miller]

Triples – 8

Home Runs – 10 [6, tied with Fred Luderus]

RBI – 91 [5]

Bases on Balls – 56 [16, tied with Dick Egan]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 20

Stolen Bases – 36 [7, tied with Dode Paskert]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .330 [4]

OBP - .393 [8]

Slugging Pct. - .471 [4]

Total Bases – 263 [5]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 13

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: HR - 8, RBI - 55, AVG - .376, SLG PCT - .583

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 6 AB) vs. Cincinnati 6/5

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

HR at home – 5

HR on road – 5

Most home runs, game – 1 on ten occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Phila. Phillies 5/1

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 730

Put Outs – 313

Assists – 379

Errors – 38

DP – 68

Pct. - .948

Postseason Batting: 8 G (World Series vs. Bos. Red Sox)

PA – 36, AB – 33, R – 5, H – 8, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 3, IBB – 1, SO – 2, SB – 2, CS – N/A, AVG - .242, OBP - .306, SLG - .333, TB – 11, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: Chalmers Award

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Larry Doyle, NYG: 48 pts. - 75% share

Honus Wagner, Pitt.: 43 pts. – 67% share

Chief Meyers, NYG: 25 pts. – 39% share

Joe Tinker, ChiC.: 22 pts. – 34% share

Bob Bescher, Cin.: 17 pts. – 27% share

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Giants went 103-48 to win the NL pennant by 10 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team led the league in runs scored (823), home runs (47), stolen bases (319), batting (.286), and OBP (.360). They lost the World Series to the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3 with one tie (Game 2 called after 11 innings due to darkness). A dropped fly ball by CF Fred Snodgrass of the Giants in the deciding game led to the Red Sox pulling out a 3-2 win.  

Aftermath of ‘12:

The Giants won a third consecutive NL pennant in 1913 and Doyle contributed a .280 batting average as well as 25 doubles, 6 triples, 5 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 38 stolen bases. He missed the last week of the season as a result of injuries sustained when he lost control of his Chalmers car and crashed into a tree. In the fall he received a significant offer to jump to the rival Federal League that he turned down to remain with the Giants. His average dropped to .260 in 1914 but he rebounded in 1915 to lead the NL in batting (.320), hits (189), and doubles (40). Doyle slumped in 1916 and was hitting .268 in August when he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs with two other players for third baseman Heinie Zimmerman. Overall he batted .278 with 29 doubles, 11 triples, and 3 home runs. Doyle had a down year with the Cubs in 1917 and batted .254 with 61 RBIs. In the offseason he was dealt to the Boston Braves for LHP Lefty Tyler and a few days later he was traded back to the Giants. Hindered by illness in 1918 Doyle appeared in just 75 games and hit .261. He came back in 1919 to bat .289 with 10 triples, 7 home runs and 52 RBIs. He spent one more year with the Giants in 1920 and hit .285. For his career Doyle batted .290 with 1887 hits that included 299 doubles, 123 triples, and 74 home runs. He also accumulated 794 RBIs and 298 stolen bases. With the Giants he batted .292 with 1751 hits, 275 doubles, 67 home runs, 726 RBIs, and 291 stolen bases. Doyle went on to work for the Giants in several positions including being a minor league manager. Diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1942 he spent time in a sanitorium in Saranac Lake, New York and he remained in Saranac Lake following the facility’s closure until his death in 1974 at age 87.  

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.