Was the Doyle Alexander acquisition...

...worth giving up John Smoltz?

Doyle Alexander was considered by many to be a hired gun... a mercenary who was only after the bucks. Doyle never really denied it- "I have no loyalty, he once said. "I win for the team I play for." and he won a lot... 194 wins in 19 years for 8 different teams!

Doyle was 6'3" from Alabama, but no one ever called him a good ol' boy... more like Dour Doyle, but he seemed like a guy of principle. He'd hold out at the drop of a cap, but once after smashing his hand against a wall in New York, he offered to give back a month of his salary... "They signed me to pitch and now I'm unable to perform due to something I did myself. I feel they shouldn't be held responsible (for salary) when they have to pay someone else to do my job."

They guy could pitch... great control, a bunch of different pitches with a bunch of different arm slots. He'd win games throwing under 100 pitches...

They called him McCloud because he looked and sounded like Dennis Weaver on the old TV show... he was most famous to Tiger fans as the guy we gave up John Smoltz for, but think about it:

...He went 9-0 to pretty much win the 1987 Division title

...In those days there were 2 chances to make the playoffs. When you had the chance, you took it.

...Smoltzie was highly thought of, but still only a prospect. Doyle Alexander was a proven major leaguer a time when the Tigers really needed pitching.

...Even after Smoltz became a star, those Tiger teams of the '90s and '00s were so bad, it wouldn't have mattered.

"Doyle Alexander was the difference between first place and the cemetery..." - Sparky Anderson

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