Duffy Dyer

Donald Robert “Duffy” Dyer (born August 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1968 to 1981, most prominently as a member of the New York Mets team that won two National League pennants and won the World Series in 1969. He also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, and the Detroit Tigers.

After his playing career, Dyer worked as a coach for several major league organizations before becoming a minor league manager. In 1986, Dyer was inducted into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame.¹

Basics

• Positions
  • Catcher (634 Games)
  • Outfield (1 Game in 1972)
  • Designated Hitter (10 Games in 1980)²
• Major League Debut
  • Started Saturday, September 21, 1968 game Catching for the New York Mets visiting the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium.
  • Got his first career hit leading off the fifth inning, but was the front end of Ed Kranepool’s Ground into Double Play.³
• Last MLB Appearance
  • 9th Inning Substitute on Wednesday, April 15, 1981 for the Detroit Tigers visiting the Kansas City Royals at Royals Stadium.
  • Entered the game during the bottom of the 9th inning after Lance Parrish argued a fair/foul call by Home Plate Umpire Larry Barnett. Parrish slammed his mask, which at that time was an automatic ejection. Dyer caught the final two outs of the game, getting Dave Rozema to coax ground ball outs from Hal McRae and Amos Otis.⁴
• Times Ejected: 1
  • June 20, 1990
    • Milwaukee Brewers at Seattle Mariners
    • Umpire: Rocky Roe
    • As Third Base Coach for Milwaukee, Dyer argued over a Balk Non-Call when Randy Johnson was pitching. ⁵
• World Series
  • 1969 New York Mets World Series Champion

Teams Played for

• Greenville Mets: Western Carolina League (A)
• Williamsport Mets: Eastern League (AA)
• AIL Athletics: Arizona Instructional League (Winter Rookie)
• FIL Mets: Florida Instructional League (Winter Rookie)
• Jacksonville Suns: International League (AAA)
• New York Mets: NL
• Tidewater Tides: International League (AAA)
• Pittsburgh Pirates: NL
• Montréal Expos: NL
• Detroit Tigers: AL⁶

Career Stat Line

• Batting Average: .221
• OPS: .620
• At Bats: 1993
• Runs: 151
• Hits: 441
• Home Runs: 30
• Runs Batted In: 173
• Stolen Bases: 10⁷

Club Baseball Jobs

• Chicago Cubs
  • 1983
    • Bullpen Coach
• Minnesota Twins System
  • 1984-85
    • Manager – Kenosha Twins: Midwestern League (A)
• Milwaukee Brewers System
  • 1986-87
    • Manager – El Paso Diablos: Texas League (AA)
  • 1988
    • Manager – Denver Zephyrs: American Association (AAA)
• Milwaukee Brewers
  • 1989-1995
    • Third Base Coach
  • September 24 – 26, 1993
    • Acting Manager for 3 games (1W 2L)
  • July 27 – 30, 1995
    • Acting Manager for 4 games (0W 4L)
• Oakland Athletics
  • 1996
    • Third Base Coach
  • 1997-98
    • Bench Coach⁸
  • May 10 1997
    • Acting Manager for 1 Game (0W 1L)
• Baltimore Orioles System
  • 1999-2000
    • Manager – Bluefield Orioles: Appalachian League (Rookie)
• Independent Baseball
  • 2001-02
    • Manager – Bridgeport Bluefish: Atlantic League
• Detroit Tigers System
  • 2005-06
    • Manager – Erie SeaWolves: Eastern League (AA)⁹

Transfers

• June 8 1965
  • Drafted by the Milwaukee Braves in the 38th Round. Did not sign.
• June 7 1966
  • Drafted by New York Mets in the 1st Round (9th Overall Pick) of the secondary phase of the free-agent draft
• October 22 1974
  • Traded from New York Mets to Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Mets received Gene Clines
• November 2 1978
  • Granted Free Agency
• November 28 1978
  • Signed by the Montréal Expos
• March 15 1980
  • Traded from Montréal Expos to Detroit Tigers
  • Expos received Jerry Manuel
• May 18 1981
  • Released by Detroit Tigers¹⁰

Injured List

• March 29 – April 22 1978
  • Fractured Right Thumb from Hit By Pitch¹¹

1. Duffy Dyer, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duffy_Dyer&oldid=1207876582 (last visited July 9, 2024). ↩︎
2. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/11004/ ↩︎
3. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1968/B09210PHI1968.htm ↩︎
4. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1981/B04150KCA1981.htm ↩︎
5. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1990/B06290SEA1990.htm ↩︎
6. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=dyer–001don ↩︎
7. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/11004/ ↩︎
8. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/D/Pdyerd101.htm ↩︎
9. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=dyer–001don ↩︎
10. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/D/Pdyerd101.htm ↩︎
11. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/11004/tranx/ ↩︎