×
×
homepage logo

Doyle has successful three-game series in Washington, now has 21 homers

By Bob Madison - For the Chronicle | Aug 30, 2024

Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle played at Nationals Park last week. Courtesy photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Several small pockets of fans situated in shady areas of Nationals Park last week were inordinately interested in the at-bats of Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle.

The Rockies were in town to play the Nationals in a three-game, midweek series. It was Colorado’s only visit to Washington in the 2024 season.

The highly interested small groups seemed most animated when Doyle, batting third in the Colorado order, faced a Washington pitcher.

Could those people have been from Shepherdstown or a close follower of Shepherd University baseball? Or could they have been from Warrenton, Va. or a graduate of Kettle Run High School in that city?

The odds are pretty good they were.

Doyle played for Shepherd until just after the 2019 season, when he signed a half-million dollar professional contract with the usually struggling Rockies. He had been that team’s fourth round draft pick in the major league June free agent selection process.

He had risen through Colorado’s minor league system with a steady progression that brought him to the major leagues very early in the 2023 season. Displaying a penchant for defense while patrolling centerfield for the Rockies, Doyle was awarded a Gold Glove for his sometimes spectacular work in the spacious outfielder at Coors Field in Denver.

Here in 2024, the lithe and long striding 6-foot-4 athlete has displayed the “big league attributes” he had shown the shivering scouts that had huddled through 40-degree afternoons at Shepherd’s Fairfax Field to see him play.

In the three-game series against the Nationals, Doyle went 5-for-12 (a .417 batting average) with a pair of hits in two of the games and his 21st home run of the season in the Thursday afternoon finale of the series.

Through games as of Aug. 25, Doyle was 124-for-461, a .269 batting average that is second-best among the Colorado starters.

His 21 homers were balanced by his 25 stolen bases in 30 attempts. He has an outside chance to be a “30-30” player this season, if his long-ball bat catches fire through September and early October against the pitching of teams trying called-up prospects and those playing for non-contending teams.

Doyle had scored 74 runs and showed 22 doubles, four triples and 63 RBIs.

Colorado is still mired in last place in the National League’s West Division and will miss the playoffs again. But the fanbase still attends the home games in favorable numbers.

From Warrenton to Shepherdstown. From Kettle Run High School to Shepherd University. Those who remembered Brenton Doyle’s formative years were scattered about Nationals Park and cheering loudly for their favorite son.