Cancer claims South Salem Baseball Coaching Icon

Mike Doran-who coached his entire adult life in the Salem area—was 83

Baseball-baseball-baseball.

Mike Doran was a man who immersed himself in America’s past time.  And he did it well, sharing his talents for over 53 years at South Salem and Sprague High Schools, and Willamette University.  Doran also volunteered as a coach for American Legion baseball locally, and served as a major league scout for four different organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

It is quite the resume’ for a man who never actually played professionally.  But Mike did it with quiet gusto.  He died in Salem Thursday after a battle with lung cancer.  He was 83 years old.

Doran grew up in a split household, rotating each year between homes in Portland and Challis, Idaho.  He graduated in Idaho in 1958.

A quiet, affable man, Doran never talked much about his own career.  First, he served in the Air Force as a spy—although he was pretty secretive about all that he did in that capacity. Mike then attended Lewis and Clark State College in Idaho, where he played some baseball and obtained a BA degree in Social Studies and Russian Language.  He used that diploma to become a teacher, landing at South Salem High in 1968.  He began as an assistant baseball coach for the Saxons, and eventually moved into the head coaching position in 1978—serving in that capacity for nine years.

When Doran stepped down from the Saxon coaching post, he continued to revel in teaching players—moving to assist at rival Sprague High for six seasons.  That stint included a state title for the Olympians in 1995.

Mike spent most summers assisting with American Legion baseball—working with the highly regarded Withnell Dodgers team from 1994 until this past season (2021).  He later shifted his spring assistance efforts to the next level, serving as the hitting coach for Willamette University from 2008 to 2018.  And on top of it all, when he retired from teaching in 1996, Doran became a part time scout for a series of major league teams—the Brewers, Astros, Cubs, and Marlins—during the baseball fall ball seasons.

You would think that with all of this activity, that Mike’s family got short changed in the process.  You would be wrong.

Maren Doran-Frith, Mike’s daughter, admits her Mom, Lana was a baseball widow for most of their 48 years of their marriage.  But she wasn’t sad about it.  The family embraced baseball and came to many games.

“When I was a little girl,” recalls Maren, “my favorite thing was to be at  (South’s) Gilmore Field and to run into the dugout to be with my brother—the bat boy.”

Maren says that Mike Doran may have had a passion for baseball, but his family was more important.

“[My dad] would give his shirt off his back for us and his friends.” 

Mike also attended his kid’s activities—Maren was into drama—and he continued that tradition with his grandkids.  One bonus for Doran:  his son, John, earned a baseball scholarship and played for four years at the University of Portland.  More baseball.

I personally got to talk to Mike on and off over a few seasons as an online broadcaster of Willamette University baseball.  The words between us were few, but lots of smiling was involved.  And his hitting coach duties were highly valued.

“He knew his baseball,” recalled John (through his sister).

“He could tell what was wrong with a batter’s swing from a thousand miles away, and fix it.”

When he wasn’t coaching, Mike’s hobbies revolved around—you guessed it.

In particular, Mike and another former Saxon coach Pete Hoffert—ran fantasy baseball leagues every season.

Mike Doran’s passing may not be noticed by some younger adults locally, but there are still plenty who will miss him greatly.  Terry Haugen—who coached South Salem to its only state baseball title in 1991—listed Mike as one of the coaches he most admired.  Terry recently visited Doran in Salem Hospital to say good bye.

Mike Doran gave much of his life to his beloved game of baseball.  Seems reasonable to believe he will try to organize a pickup game in heaven once he gets settled up there.  It could happen.

A big tip of the cap to you, Mike.