William Donald Doran is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1982 to 1993 with the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. He was the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals from 2005 to 2007 and posted a 4-6 record as the Royals' interim manager to close the 2006 season. Doran rejoined the Reds on November 2, 2007, as the minor league infielding/baserunning coordinator. After previously serving as the minor league field coordinator, Doran moved into the role of special assistant to the general manager, player performance role for the Reds for the 2019 season.
Doran was selected by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the 1979 draft. He made his major league debut with the team in 1982. In 1986, the Astros went to the playoffs and Doran finished eleventh in the voting for NL Most Valuable Player. In the 1986 National League Championship Series, Doran hit a two-run home run in a Game Three loss for the Astros. Before the 1987 season, Doran lost an arbitration case with the Astros. Paid $550,000 in 1986, he was seeking $825,000. Doran received only $625,000. He had his best year that season, as he led the NL in games played, batted.283, hit a career high 16 home runs, had a career high.992 fielding percentage, and scored a career high 79 runs. After the 1988 season, Doran underwent rotator cuff surgery. In August 1990, Doran was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for three players to be named later. He turned down a trade to the New York Metsthe day before. Although the Reds won the World Series that year, Doran had back surgery the day the team clinched the division pennant and he missed the rest of the season. "I didn't feel like I belonged. I was just a rented player", Doran said. In 1992, Cincinnati's Bip Roberts emerged as a standout second baseman and made the NL All-Star team. The Reds sold Doran to the Milwaukee Brewers in January 1993. He retired in 1993 after struggling with injuries that season. Doran had a career.266 batting average, but had four seasons when he placed in the top 10 in the National League in bases on balls. Doran never made an All-Star team, but was extraordinarily popular at The Astrodome and admired for his hustle and ferocity, reminiscent of Cincinnati native Pete Rose. He was widely considered the best Astros second baseman in team history until the emergence of Craig Biggio, who eclipsed Doran in offensive statistics but never approached Doran's defensive capacity. He is among the career leaders in many offensive categories for the Astros. He is top 10 in at bats, runs, hits, singles, triples, total bases, and bases on balls. Doran became a minor league instructor for the Reds in 1995. In 1999 and 2000, Doran served as the organization's minor league field coordinator, director of player development and assistant to the general manager. He became a major league coach for the Reds in November 2000. After a 96-loss season in 2001, the Reds did not renew the contracts of Doran or third base coachRon Oester. Doran joined the Kansas City Royals coaching staff in 2005 and became their bench coach the following year. He is currently a special assistant to the Reds.
Personal life
Doran resides in Cincinnati. He has three children, Dana, Amy and Ryan. His son Ryan, who is named after Doran's teammate Nolan Ryan, was a player in the Reds' minor-league system, and is pursuing an acting and writing career.
