A Look Back At Brian Dozier, The No-Power Middle Infielder Who Grew Into Big Power

[Al from SoDak]

Brian Dozier was a very productive player for a brief period. He seemed to come up with little fanfare, hit 20, 30, and then 40 home runs, and then disappear just as quickly. Did anybody see his period of greatness coming? I sure didn’t.

In the series Remembering Random Twins, I have actually used a randomizer to select a player from a list, but I have overruled the resulting random player in a few circumstances. 

• If the player played very briefly and I just can’t find anything interesting, I might skip that player. For example, I recently highlighted Erik Bennett, a pitcher who threw only 27 innings in his career. However, I discovered that his father and uncle had pitched in Major League Baseball, and Erik was the winning pitcher in the highest-scoring game in Twins history. I thought that was enough information to craft a story, so I went ahead.
• I have tried to avoid players whose careers were after 2000 because their exploits are a bit fresher in our minds. A little of what I try to do is educate or remind readers of players from decades ago.
• I might also overrule the randomizer if it selects a particularly famous player. I have reviewed a few All-Stars and fan favorites, but I have and will intentionally avoid franchise icons like Carew, Killebrew, Oliva, Blyleven, Puckett, Hrbek, etc. So much has already been written about these players, and readers already know so much about them; I don’t know what more I would add in a short 1,000-word article.

Today, I will go against my second and third bullets above. My daughter has been requesting an article about Brian Dozier almost since I started writing for Remembering Random Twins. I don’t know if Dozier reached the status of franchise icon, but he is most definitely recent, so I usually pass on writing about him. But because of his repeated requests from a huge fan, I’m going against my normal ground rules. Let’s look back on Dozier’s career and see if we can find some unusual or forgotten facts about this fun-loving All-Star second baseman.

Jason Brian Dozier was born May 15, 1987, in Tupelo, Mississippi, the same hometown as Elvis Presley. Dozier grew up near Fulton, Mississippi, where he attended Itawamba Agricultural High School. Dozier starred for the baseball team, twice earning All-State accolades. He also played football, golf, and basketball. After high school, Dozier went to the University of Southern Mississippi and played college baseball. In 224 games at Southern Miss, Dozier had a high batting average but showed little power (.355 average, 16 home runs) in 224 games.

The Minnesota Twins drafted the five-foot-eleven, 200-pound Dozier in the eighth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft. The shortstop was sent for a short five-game stint in the Gulf Coast League before moving quickly to Elizabethton in the Appalachian League. From there, he progressed methodically through all minor league levels. He earned Twins Minor League Player of the Year in 2011 before reaching Triple-A Rochester in 2012.

The Twins promoted Dozier to the major league team in May 2012 and installed him at shortstop, replacing Pedro Florimón. All his 2012 appearances were at shortstop. Dozier played his first game on May 7, 2012, versus the Los Angeles Angels, going 1-4, with a single and one run scored in an 8-3 loss. In the eighth inning, he singled, advanced to third on a Joe Mauer single, and scored on a Ryan Doumit sacrifice fly. His first of 192 career home runs came six days later against Toronto. The blast came in the third inning against Ricky Romero in a 4-3 Twins win. Dozier played regularly until being demoted in August to finish the minor league season. After 2012, Dozier would never play shortstop again.

He started his stay at second base in 2013. He played 146 games as a second baseman and would stay there; he never appeared defensively at any other position for the rest of his career. Regardless of position, Dozier started to prove himself as a valuable player, especially on the offensive side. The young middle infielder led the Twins in home runs in 2013 with 18 round-trippers. 

Dozier continued his offensive improvement in 2014. In the game immediately preceding the All-Star Game, Dozier hit two home runs in his last two at-bats against Colorado. As a result of his strong power showing in the first half, Dozier was named to the 2014 Home Run Derby contest. This was a big benefit for Twins fans as the 2014 All-Star festivities were held at Target Field. Unfortunately for Dozier and Twins fans, he hit only two home runs in round one and was quickly eliminated.

Nonetheless, 2014 was a good season for Dozier. He would slash .242/.345/.416. Despite his low batting average, Dozier always had a good on-base percentage because of a respectable number of walks. He finished 2014 with 23 home runs and 71 runs batted in. His 112 runs scored were the second most in the American League (Mike Trout had 115) and the most by a Twin since Chuck Knoblauch scored a franchise record 140 in 1996. 

2015 saw more improvement, and Dozier was selected for his lone All-Star Game. He again had a signature moment leading up to the All-Star break. The Friday before the break, Dozier had a memorable walk-off grand slam against the Tigers. In the All-Star Game, Dozier pinch-hit in the eighth inning and hit a solo home run against Mark Melancon of the Pirates in the American League’s 6-3 victory. For the season, he set new personal highs for home runs (28) and runs batted in (77). He played well enough to earn MVP votes; he would be even better the following year.

2016 was unbelievable, but through May 31, he was only batting .202 with five home runs and 17 runs batted in. In June, he started heating up. By August, he was on fire; his 13 home runs in the month led all MLB players. September 2-6, Dozier hit a home run in five consecutive games, tying a team record originally set by Harmon Killebrew (three times, twice in 1970!) and later matched by Marty Cordova and Nelson Cruz. I remember watching some of those games during that hot streak, thinking, “Every time he hits the ball, it might go out.” He was that hot. Brian Dozier finished the season batting .268/.340/.546 with 42 home runs and 99 runs batted in. His 42 home runs included 40 as a second baseman, which set an American League record (since been surpassed by Marcus Semien). Incredibly, Dozier became only the third player in the (at that time) 116-year history of the Senators/Twins franchise to hit 40 home runs in a season. Only Roy Sievers (once) and Harmon Killebrew (eight times) had done it previously. He finished 13^th in American League MVP despite Minnesota’s horrendous 59-103 record.

Dozier’s 2017 season was solid again but tailed off a little from the incredible 2016 campaign. He won the only Gold Glove in his career. He hit 34 home runs and had 93 RBI. And he led the Twins to a very surprising Wild Card berth. In the one-game playoff against the Yankees, Dozier led off the game with a home run. That was soon followed by a two-run home run from Eddie Rosario, and Twins fans were riding high as it looked like the Twins might finally beat the Yankees. Alas, that 3-0 lead was erased immediately in the bottom of the first, and the Yankees went on to win 8-4.

In 2018, the Twins were not great, and Dozier was in the final year of a contract, so he was traded to the Dodgers at the trade deadline for Logan Forsythe, Devin Smeltzer, and Luke Raley. The Dodgers made it to the World Series, where they lost five games to Boston. Dozier was mainly a part-time player. He had two hits and five walks in 22 plate appearances over 11 games. He had no home runs or RBI.

After the 2018 season, Brian Dozier became a free agent. He chose the right team. He signed a one-year contract with Washington and was reunited with former Twin and 2014 All-Star teammate Kurt Suzuki. Dozier hit 20 home runs and 50 runs batted in for the Nationals. He appeared as a pitcher for the very first time in his career. He pitched one inning and gave up a two-run home run to former Twins teammate Eduardo Escobar in an 18-7 loss. But that low point didn’t prevent the Nationals from placing second in their division and securing a Wild Card appearance for the playoffs. From there, they went on a roll. They won the Wild Card game against the Brewers, beat the Dodgers in the Division Series, swept the Cardinals in the NLCS, and won the World Series in seven games against the Astros. For his part, Dozier had few opportunities as he was mostly a bench player with a couple of hitting opportunities. He ended up with one walk in seven plate appearances in the playoffs and World Series. I’m sure he would have wanted to contribute more, but he managed to get a World Series ring in his final full major league season. 

He signed a contract with San Diego in the winter but never played in a major league game. He was released and signed by the Mets, but he only played seven games in July and August before being released. He was done at 33 years of age.

Finally, here’s a trivia nugget that I came across which is new to me. I wonder if some of you know this. Dozier was given the name “Lo Conner” by his friend and former Twins teammate Eduardo Escobar. This is because Dozier, according to Escobar, looks like Brian O’Conner (played by Paul Walker) in The Fast and The Furious movie franchise. Check out the Lo Conner video linked above; it’s funny. The funniest thing about this goofy nickname is that Dozier accepted it and used it during the 2019 Players’ Weekend, putting it on the back of his jersey. 

In my judgment, Brian Dozier was an overachiever. When he first came up, I thought he might be a useful player, but I never imagined he would develop the power he did. I never foresaw a Home Run Derby appearance, let alone a 42-home-run season. Kudos to him for that development. He finished with a career batting line of .244/.325/.441. His career OPS+ was 107. In addition to the 192 home runs, he had 561 runs batted in. He finished with 23.7 WAR. He hit more than 20 home runs six times, including one 30 and one 40 HR season. Dozier’s 167 home runs are the tenth most in Senators/Twins history.

Well, did we learn anything new about fan favorite Brian Dozier? I didn’t know he shared a hometown with Elvis. I wasn’t aware of the “Lo Conner” nickname. I had forgotten his 40 home runs were a record for AL second basemen for a period. I didn’t know about his pitching appearance, where he gave up a round-tripper to former teammate Eduardo Escobar. I knew he hit many home runs, but I wouldn’t have guessed he hit the tenth most dingers in franchise history. Please provide your thoughts in the comment section below.

If you like this type of writing about Twins history, check out my previous entries at Twins Daily History.

Sources include Baseball Reference, Wikipedia, www.mlb.com, and www.imdb.com.

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[Parfigliano]

I was at that 2 HR game against Colorado.

[bean5302]

I didn't believe in Dozier. Year after year I expected him to turn back into a pumpkin. Then, finally in 2017 I decided the track record was undeniable. Whoops. The thing which got to me about Dozier was fly ball distance. He had warning track + 5 foot power to right field.

Heck of a career, though! 

[Doctor Gast]

Dozier played his heart out for MN. That's why he's one of my favorites.

[stringer bell]

Dozier is one of my all-time favorites. He made the absolute most of his talents and became a slugger. Dozier didn't hit many tape-measure shots, but was able to learn how to pull the ball and get it in the lower deck in left field. 

He wasn't blessed with a strong arm, so the move to second was needed. He had enough range to be good at second and enough speed to take extra bases and steal a few bags. He contributed in all facets of the game.

I met Brian in the spring when he had converted to second base and he was polite and humble. He became a favorite of mine from that point.

[Dave Mona]

Another fun and informative yarn, Al. Keep them coming. 

[Pat]

I remember how quick he was on pitches on the inner half of the plate.  When he was hot that pitch was gone.  I also remember the Twins offered him a long term deal and he turned it down resulting in his trade to the Dodgers.  He would have made more money if he had accepted that offer.  He appears to have expected to get a big deal in free agency which didn't happen.  

 

[ashbury]

I never understood why any pitcher would ever throw a strike high and inside to Dozier.  So I guess for a while there he hit literally every mistake pitch that came his way.  That's not easy - good for him!

[theBOMisthebomb]

What a fun player to cheer for. I remember yelling and making a ruckus when Dozier hit a HR during his September 2016 hot streak. My wife was wondering why I was getting so excited when the Twins were so terrible. I told her how great this Dozier guy was and how much fun to see him have so much unexpected success. She quickly became a big Dozier fan.