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D.J. Dozier
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Memories of
D.J. Dozier

D.J. Dozier
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 537 of 1252 players
Dozier
William Henry Dozier
Born: September 21, 1965 at Norfolk, Va.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.00 Weight: 205
of

First Mets game: May 6, 1992
Last Mets game: October 4, 1992

Share your memories of D.J. Dozier

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Oren
D.J. also played football for the Minnesota Vikings. When I was at a Port St. Lucie Mets game that was in rain delay, he signed a football and a baseball for me. He was a real nice guy. We chatted about 20 minutes. He also seemed to like having fun. The guys used the tarp as a slip and slide.

murphy
May 2, 2001
 He was a pretty good running back at Penn State. Should have stuck with football.

Dave
August 19, 2001
 If DJ's bat was as big as his ego, maybe he would have gotten a hit, once. He was washed up before he even got started. And to that guy who he signed an autograph for, did he only sign half of his name. He infamous for only signing half of his name, sometimes you would have to hit him up twice for a full autograph. What a stinge.

loyal fan
September 19, 2001
 My son was five years old when he died. The only pro athlete that would visit him before he died was D.J. This goes to show you that you can be a star in other ways than on the field

Cami
November 1, 2003
 The person that several of you are describing is not the DJ Dozier I was lucky to have as a friend at PSU. He was kind, sharing and always there for a friend when he was needed!

Phil Thiegou
November 1, 2003
 He also played for the Detroit Lions. He was Barry Sanders' back up, and in 1991 that was like being Cal Ripken, Jr.'s back up.

Tom Shannon
April 14, 2005
 DJ had 8 touchdowns for the 1987 Vikings! 5 Rushing, 2 Receiving, and one rushing in the playoffs!

What an ugly swing this guy had though. I guess being a backup RB for the Lions during the Barry years can get frustrating.

Mike
December 8, 2006
 As a life long Mets, and Vikings fan, I thought the stars had aligned when DJ Dozier played for both my favorite teams. I was very disappointed he didn't work out for either, especially for the Vikings where he was a 1st round draft pick. It's too bad his natural athletic ability didn't translate to hitting.

Michael
February 29, 2008
 The only memory I have of DJ was that when he was first coming up...when I was still young...I remember This Week In Baseball doing a special on him. I got me really excited as a 7 (8??) year old.

puddin head
September 2, 2008
 Dozier was on my fantasy football team in 1987 as a Vikings rookie; scored some big TDs for me. When he scored for Penn State in the national championship game against Miami, all he did was kneel down for a moment and then give the ball to the referee. None of that showboat garbage. A sharp contrast to those obnoxious Miami players.

Salamander
April 9, 2017
 When D. J. played for the Mets, he was used basically as a promotional tool. Here was a guy who had a football career and was being sold as a two-sport athlete like Bo Jackson had been a few years earlier. The team tried to enhance its image with someone who had made a name for himself in another game and it didn't work out well.

Depending on an individual to promote themselves is something the Mets have tried to do occasionally throughout their history. Casey Stengel served the team in that fashion in its earliest days. The same can be said about Willie Mays (1972) and the return of Tom Seaver (1983), both of whom were aging stars at the time. These additions were artificial ways of generating interest in the team whether it was needed or or not. The Mets probably thought the presence of D. J. alone would increase attention and revenue for them. Not so.

The Tim Tebow experiment of 2017 is very much like Dozier's role with the team a quarter century ago. I wish the Mets would stop with these silly publicity ploys. They don't lead to championships or even a higher position in the standings.

Dave VW
November 9, 2022
 I have to disagree completely with what Salamander wrote above. Dozier was definitely no "promotional tool," signed only to create publicity and attract attention. He was a legit two-sport athlete, drafted by the Tigers out of high school in 1983. But he instead chose to go to Penn St. to play football, which led to a national championship and a first-round selection to the Vikings in 1987. Soured by his lack of opportunities in the NFL by 1990, he gave up football and returned to baseball, signing with the Mets as a free agent. Splitting that season between Class A and AA, he hit .303 with 15 HR, 80 RBI and 36 SB. Those stats are a far cry from anything Tim Tebow ever accomplished and led to Dozier being named the 44th best prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America prior to the 1991 season. He fizzled out from there but, just because he didn't pan out doesn't mean his addition was only a "silly publicity ploy." In actuality, he was someone the Mets had taken a flier on and appeared to be on the path to big things. It just didn't work out. And the Mets were far from the only team who saw something in Dozier, as the Padres traded for him, along with Wally Whitehurst and minor league catcher Raul Casanova, for All-Star SS Tony Fernandez following the 1992 season. Were the Padres also guilty of finding "artificial ways of generating interest in their team?" I think it's more the case that Dozier displayed some actual talent and teams thought he could develop into a legit big-league contributor. Of course, in hindsight that didn't happen, but by no means does that mean Dozier was only some sort of sideshow attraction meant to generate fan interest.

Glenrock
December 22, 2022
 D. J. was an outstanding athlete whose talents might have been wasted in football. If he had played baseball only, I believe that he would've had a successful major league career. Dozier's minor league training started a few years after his college days and even while he was still in the NFL. His skills on the diamond never had a chance to materialize.

With apologies to Dave VW, I must take Salamander's side on the fact that D. J. was brought up to the Mets for the sake of publicity. The 1992 team that he joined was in decline and needed something that would create fan interest. With Bo Jackson's all-world image in the spotlight, Dozier could've become the same kind of commercial figure since he also played two pro sports. Even though D. J. was a quality up-and-coming Mets prospect, it still seemed that he was rushed through the farm system in order to be showcased. Dozier didn't get any endorsements and was soon gone from the public eye.








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