It took a while for Dorian Boyland to hit his grand-slam homer, but he's riding high now

The former Portland Beaver and Pittsburgh Pirate is a big winner in the car business

Courtesy of Dr. Dorian Boyland

Covering minor-league baseball for several seasons was probably the most fun assignment I ever had in my newspaper career. I always loved the game, even coached it at several levels, but the big thing was the people I met.

With all those games for months, you get to know the players better than you do in any other pro sport. And they aren’t Major League players yet, so they are more approachable and open than they usually become when they hit the big time.

One of my favorite Portland Beavers — along with Tommy Sandt, Bobby Mitchell, Dan Warthen, Rick Rhoden and, I guess, countless others — was an unassuming first baseman named Dorian Boyland, who was called “Doe” rather than Dorian in those days.

Boyland — you can now call him Dr. Dorian Boyland — has led an amazing life in and out of baseball. He began his professional baseball career as a second-round pick, drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play a position he had never played and knew nothing about.

And as it turned out, his post-baseball career was one he resisted, didn’t think he was qualified for and succeeded beyond what was ever expected. His story is special, a testament to leading a righteous life. But let me start at the beginning of his inspiring tale.