Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950 in Cordova, Alabama) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, and Detroit Tigers. He batted and threw right-handed.

[edit] Major League career

Alexander was an average pitcher for most of his career, with moments of brilliance that helped teams win divisions and pennants, as well as occasions of poor performance in the clutch. After being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968 he made the big leagues in 1971, but was traded, along with Bob O'Brien, Sergio Robles, and Royle Stillman, to the Baltimore Orioles for Frank Robinson and Pete Richert in the offseason. He enjoyed his first winning season with the Orioles in 1973 when he went 12-8 with a 3.86 ERA. He was traded to the New York Yankees in a ten player deal in the middle of the 1976 season and went 10-5 to help the Yankees win the American League east division. He did not pitch during the ALCS, so he was tagged to start Game One of the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, which he lost. Alexander signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent in the offseason and enjoyed one good year before falling apart. It would not be until a trade to the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1983 season that he would return to form.

The Blue Jays were on the rise in the mid 1980s, and Alexander was an instrumental part of their success, winning 17 games in both 1984 and 1985, including the division-clinching win over the Yankees in 1985. His skill did not hold in the ALCS, however, where he went 0-1 with an 8.71 earned run average in two starts as the Blue Jays fell to the Kansas City Royals in seven games.

A slow start the next year got him traded to the Atlanta Braves, who dealt him in turn to the contending Detroit Tigers the next year for John Smoltz. Detroit 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. Again, he was miserable in the ALCS going 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA, bringing his postseason totals to 0-5 with an 8.38 ERA. Alexander was not nearly as effective after that, though he did make his only All-Star appearance in 1988, and retired after the 1989 season.

[edit] See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube