After letting 1B Tadahisa Kisuki walk to free agency, Jersey Shore was in need of a 1B, and they went looking Doyle's way. At 36 years of age, he is not the same player he once was, but still managed to hit 17 homers last year with the Bruins. At about the same time, Jersey Shore decided to bring back Mike Bryant seemingly for 1 more year after after having by far the worst season of his career at age 37. With Dave Dodd in the 2nd year of his 7-year, $175M dollar contract, the trio would be re-united for one last season.
Wearing a D-Bag uniform, the three have combined for 995 home runs and sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in D-Bags history. Doyle would need 20 home runs to pass Kisuki and take over 3rd on the list. What's even more interesting is the trio sits 3rd, 4th and 5th on the all time HR list, which historically speaking is something we have never seen before. 1282 career HR out of just the 3 of them.
We are into May and they haven't been in the same lineup yet. An early season fractured finger from Doyle kept him out of the lineup for the first couple weeks. When he was able to come back, Bryant was stuck on the shelf with a hamstring strain. They were finally all healthy for 1 game when Dodd missed a week with neck spasms. Now they are all healthy again, Manager Carlos Uribe has said he would like to see them all starting for at least a game.
While Dodd is still in his prime but starting to age at 32, this is almost the end of an era for Jersey Shore. Bryant has been a staple in the lineup for 12+ years. Doyle a top prospect and a star with a late homecoming. The future pieces are already in Jersey, but for fans this year represents one last chance for the old crew to make a run. They are still chasing that elusive 1st title. While Bryant and Doyle probably won't have nearly the impact they once had, it should be a fun summer for fans and a last chance to see these stars play together.
GO D-BAGS
