"He's not the type of kid you can rush," Bavasi told The Times of the fourth-year player. "Tools-wise, you can compare him to Kirk Gibson, maybe a notch below. He's a speed-strength guy--he's very strong, he's got the arm and he can run. With him, he's either going to blast off or it won't happen at all."
Doran played that year at single-A Palm Springs. He made AA Midland the next year and AAA Edmonton in 1988. For Doran, though, the majors never happened. He played eight professional seasons, but never made the bigs.
Doran's career began in 1983, taken by the Angels in the first round of the draft out of the University of Wisconsin.
At Wisconsin, Doran played baseball, but also football. He served as a kicker for the Badgers from 1980 to 1982.
He started with the Angels at single-A Peoria. He played his first two seasons there. He hit .289 his second year there.
Doran moved to single-A Redwood for 1985, then Palm Springs for an abbreviated 1986. He played 49 games at Palm Springs and hit .257.
He hit .276 at Midland in 1987 and then .239 at Edmonton in 1988. He split 1989 between Midland and AA Birmingham with the White Sox. He then played his final season in 1990 back with the Angels at Palm Springs and Midland.
Doran has since returned home to Illinois, where he serves in 2018 as the owner of Diamond Sports Academy in Mokena. In 1996, he served as a group leader at a White Sox training camp.
"Baseball is a great vehicle to teach you about life - that hard work, dedication and discipline can take you a long way," Doran told The Northwest Indiana Times for that 1996 camp, "and that's what I hope all the kids get out of this."
- Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1986: In These Stories, Future Is now for 1991 Angels and Dodgers
- Northwest Indiana Times, July 16, 1996: Batter up kids - White Sox style
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,931
Made the Majors:1,089-37.2%
Never Made Majors:1,842-62.8%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 451
10+ Seasons in the Minors:271
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