Doe Boyland

Dorian Scott Boyland

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 4", Weight 200 lb.
• School University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
• High School South Shore High School (Chicago)
• Debut September 4, 1978
• Final Game October 4, 1981
• Born January 6, 1955 in Chicago, IL USA

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Biographical Information

“For many years I dreamed of what I might do in my first major-league at-bat... I dreamed of hitting a grand-slam homer and even of striking out, but I never thought I’d strike out – and be watching from the dugout.” - Doe Boyland, The Sporting News, October 7, 1978

Doe Boyland is the only man in major league history to record a strikeout in his first at bat... while actually sitting on the bench. On September 4, 1978, facing a 1-2 pitch with Phil Garner having stolen second base, the New York Mets replaced Skip Lockwood on the hill with Kevin Kobel, leading Pittsburgh Pirates manager Chuck Tanner to send up Rennie Stennett to bat for Boyland. Stennett was at the plate for strike three, but due to MLB rules, the at-bat and the strikeout were actually charged to Boyland.

Once considered the heir apparent to Willie Stargell at first base for the Bucs, Boyland was a pretty good minor league hitter: in a six-year stretch from 1976 to 1981, he hit .295 with 44 home runs in 521 games. In the majors, he never got a real look, playing 21 games from 1978 to 1981, with just one on the field, coming in 1978.

Related Sites

• Doe Boyland at the SABR Bio Project