Phillies Events on January 17 (all years)

January 17, 2017: The Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins formally opened a new shared baseball academy in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, aimed at developing young international talent for both organizations.
January 17, 2025: The Phillies signed free agent RHP Koyo Aoyagi to a minor league contract as part of their winter roster moves. On the same day, Philadelphia acquired CF Dylan Campbell from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for future considerations. Aoyagi posted an 8.84 ERA with Lehigh Valley last season and was released. Campbell played at Jersey Shore and Reading last season and in the Arizona Fall League, hitting a combined 14-60-.215/.298/.368/.667 in the minors.

Phillies-Related Birthdays on January 17

Jim Roxburgh (born 1858) Catcher who played two of his four MLB games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1887 during the American Association era. He finished his career hitting .250 (3-for-12).
Tripp Sigman (born 1899) Outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1929–1930 seasons, who hit .326 in 62 games with the Phillies over those seasons.
Jocko Thompson (born 1917): A left-handed pitcher who spent parts of four seasons (1948–1951) with the Philadelphia Phillies, including appearances during the Whiz Kids era and went a combined 6-11, 4.24 in 21 starts and 40 relief appearances.
Denny Doyle (born 1943) Infielder who signed with the Phillies as an undrafted free agent, worked his way through the Spartanburg Phillies and other minor league affiliates, and debuted with Philly in 1970; he played over 400 games with the club before moving on in his career to play with the California Angels and Boston Red Sox.
Tyler Houston (born 1971) Major league third baseman and catcher who played his final MLB season, 2003, with the Phillies. He played with Atlanta, the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and the LA Dodgers prior to playing with the Phillies.
T. J. Bohn (born 1980): Outfielder who had brief stints with the Phillies in 2008 after debuting with the Seattle Mariners two years earlier. Bohn played in 14 games with the Phillies and hit .400 (2-for-5).
Emmanuel Burriss (born 1985): Versatile utility player who played in the major leagues for multiple clubs including 39 games with the Phillies in 2016, his final season in the majors. He also played for San Francisco and Washington.

A DEEPER DIVE… Denny Doyle’s career in baseball

Denny Doyle had an interesting start to his big league story that started with a gut-punch: he was set to be a member of the first ever amateur draft in 1965, but went undrafted even though he’d been a standout athlete at Morehead State. Instead of calling it quits, he stuck around to finish his degree and wound up helping at a two-day Little League clinic in Ashland, Kentucky. A longtime Phillies scout, Mel Clark, happened to be there, worked him out, and got permission to sign him on the spot. Doyle later joked he was the only major leaguer “signed from a Little League clinic,” but the bigger point is this: he went from undrafted to being in an organization because he kept showing up around the game he loved.

Once he was in, the Phillies’ farm system became his proving ground. He began at Spartanburg, where he hit .308 and led his league in hits, and he formed a double-play partnership with a young shortstop named Larry Bowa that would echo all the way to the majors. After more strong minor league seasons, he reached Triple-A Eugene in 1969 and didn’t just blend in, he dominated: he led the Pacific Coast League in hits and was named both Rookie of the Year and league MVP., a pretty loud way to force a front office to take notice.

Making it in Philadelphia and a couple of “only in baseball” moments

Doyle debuted in the majors on April 7, 1970, and spent four solid seasons with the Phillies, appearing in 446 games. He wasn’t brought up to be a slugger. His value was being steady in the middle infield, turning plays cleanly, and giving the lineup competent at-bats.

One of his most memorable Phillies moments came on July 18, 1972, when Padres pitcher Steve Arlin carried a no-hitter into the ninth. With two outs, and the infield shifted in to defend against a possible bunt, Doyle dropped a ball just over the third baseman’s head to break it up. It’s one of those singles that looks ordinary in a box score, but in the moment it’s baseball life-or-death.

That Phillies chapter ended abruptly when he was traded to the California Angels on December 6, 1973, a move that hit hard because he and his family were settled in South Jersey.

Career peaks and what came after

With the Angels, Doyle played a career-high 147 games in 1974 and hit around .260, showing he was able to handle everyday duty. His most famous stretch, though, came after Boston acquired him from California in mid-June 1975 to stabilize their infield defense. He immediately made noise, including a 22-game hitting streak that summer, and he was part of the Red Sox club that reached the 1975 World Series.

After his playing days, Doyle poured that same work ethic into teaching the game. Following his release in 1978, he and his brothers launched the Doyle Baseball School in Florida. By his own recollection in a later interview, the program had reached hundreds of thousands of kids, coaches, and parents over the years, turning his post-career life into a second act built around developing young players the way he once had to develop himself.

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