Date of birth: 7 April 1918
Primary position: Second Baseman
Elected to Red Sox Hall of Fame: 1995
Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: 1986
Picked up on the same scouting trip that the Red Sox made to sign Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr would play 14 years in Boston, averaging .288 at the plate but never batting below .270 in any season except for his shortened rookie campaign. Three times, he hit better than .300, batting .325 in 1944 while also leading the league with a slugging percentage of .528 that same year. He also holds the distinction of being the only Red Sox player to hit for the cycle twice, once in 1944 and nearly three years later to the day in 1947.
He proved durable in the field as well, making an average of just under 140 starts at second each season, and his all-around play helped him earn five starts in nine All-Star appearances between 1941 and 1951. He missed one season due to World War II in 1945, then came back the following season, along with Williams and center field Dom DiMaggio, to help led his club to its first American League pennant in 28 years, batting .271 with 18 home runs and 116 RBI.
Doerr collected hit number 2,000 in July of 1951 and retired a month later due to severe sacroiliac pain that put a premature end to his career, although Doerr later returned to baseball as a coach for Boston in the late 1960s. In 1986, led by the efforts of his former teammates, including the legendary Williams, the Special Veterans Committee elected Doerr into the Baseball Hall of Fame; two years later, Doerr became one of just seven Red Sox players to have his number (1) retired by Boston.
Career Batting Statistics through 2018 Season
| Season | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | 147 | 22 | 33 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 2 | .224 |
| 1938 | 509 | 70 | 147 | 5 | 80 | 59 | 5 | .289 |
| 1939 | 525 | 75 | 167 | 12 | 73 | 38 | 1 | .318 |
| 1940 | 595 | 87 | 173 | 22 | 105 | 57 | 10 | .291 |
| 1941 | 500 | 74 | 141 | 16 | 93 | 43 | 1 | .282 |
| 1942 | 545 | 71 | 158 | 15 | 102 | 67 | 4 | .290 |
| 1943 | 604 | 78 | 163 | 16 | 75 | 62 | 8 | .270 |
| 1944 | 468 | 95 | 152 | 15 | 81 | 58 | 5 | .325 |
| 1946 | 583 | 95 | 158 | 18 | 116 | 66 | 5 | .271 |
| 1947 | 561 | 79 | 145 | 17 | 95 | 59 | 3 | .258 |
| 1948 | 527 | 94 | 150 | 27 | 111 | 83 | 3 | .285 |
| 1949 | 541 | 91 | 167 | 18 | 109 | 75 | 2 | .309 |
| 1950 | 586 | 103 | 172 | 27 | 120 | 67 | 3 | .294 |
| 1951 | 402 | 60 | 116 | 13 | 73 | 57 | 2 | .289 |
| TOTAL | 7093 | 1094 | 2042 | 223 | 1247 | 809 | 54 | .288 |
Memorable Moments for Bobby Doerr
- 17 May 1944 - Bobby Doerr hits for the cycle at Fenway Park in the second game of a double header, but Boston loses 12-8 to the Browns.
- 13 May 1947 - Bobby Doerr hits for the cycle in a 19-6 win over the White Sox at Fenway Park and becomes the only player ever to hit for the cycle more than once in a Red Sox uniform.
- 21 May 1988 - Boston retires former second baseman Bobby Doerr's number one before the Red Sox go out and defeat the Angels 8-4 at Fenway Park.
- 12 November 2017 - Former Red Sox second baseman and Hall of Fame player Bobby Doerr passes away at the age of 99 in Junction City, Oregon. Doerr played his entire 14-year MLB career with Boston, and at the time of his death was the oldest living former major league player and the last person living who had played in the major leagues in the 1930s.
- 8 October 2018 - Brock Holt becomes the first player in postseason history to hit for the cycle as the Red Sox pound the Yankees 16-1 at Yankee Stadium in Game Three of the American League Division Series. Nathan Eovaldi pitches seven strong innings, and allows only one run on five hits, as Boston takes a 2-1 series lead. Holt joins Bobby Doerr as the only two players in franchise history with at least two cycles.