Rockies two-time Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle still glides. He can thank himself, as well as interim manager Warren Schaeffer, for that.
Doyle’s body maintenance, coupled with Schaeffer’s insistence that Doyle get time off, has the center fielder looking relatively fresh as the Rockies entered the final 17 games of their season.
“I feel good and I think I’m holding up pretty well,” the 27-year-old Doyle said.
His recent outfield play illustrated that. In the Rockies’ 7-2 loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, Doyle caught 10 flyballs or line drives for outs, running full out on four of those catches.
He wasn’t nearly as busy last Saturday night in the Rockies’ 10-8 loss to the Padres at Coors Field, making just four putouts. But he made two golden plays in the fourth inning. He sprinted to the deepest part of the outfield in left-center field to rob Fernando Tatis Jr. of extra bases on a ball hit 419 feet. Two batters later, he ran to right-center to steal a hit from Manny Machado on a ball that traveled 398 feet.
When Schaeffer took over for Bud Black after the latter was fired on May 11, one of Schaeffer’s primary goals was to get players off their feet, so they wouldn’t be running out of gas or playing with dead legs in September. Schaeffer was especially focused on getting Doyle time off because playing center at cavernous Coors Field takes a toll. You can ask former Rockies Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez about that.
“What Brenton has done has been extremely impressive,” Schaeffer said. “Everybody knows how hard it is. Center field, in Coors Field, is a different animal. It takes a special player to be able to do it. That’s what he is. He’s a presence out there.
“That being said, you have to take care of him. The last homestand, I gave him a day off before the homestand and a day off after the homestand, and let him play center field in every game of the homestand.”
Doyle’s playing time has been whittled a bit this season. Last year, he started 142 games in center field and was a designated hitter three times. This season, he’d started 111 games in center entering Wednesday night against the Dodgers, and had been a DH four times. Part of the reason for his reduced playing time was a quad injury and time on the bereavement list in April, as well as his early struggles against right-handed pitching.
But much of Doyle’s downtime has been planned, and he’s thankful for that. He’s also learned how to take care of his body.
“I have really put a focus on maintenance of my body, getting in the cold tub after the game, working with the trainers,” he said. “It’s part of being a professional.”
Early in the season, Doyle talked about how much he loves playing center, never mind the wide-open spaces at Coors.
“Center field has become my home,” he said. “It’s my primary position … I want to play it as long as possible.”
Blackmon, who set the Rockies’ standard for staying in shape, started 668 games in center before he was moved to right field in 2019. Doyle, completing his third season in the majors, has started 348.
Doyle struggled at the plate for much of the season’s first half, but he’s turned his offense around. He was slashing .324/.353/.511 in 53 games since July 1, entering Wednesday night. His defense, despite a few shaky moments early in the season, has been mostly excellent.
“Regardless of how I’m going offensively, I’m always going to play super hard out there on defense,” Doyle said.
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