Doug Henry

[Michael Trzinski]

It took Doug Henry six seasons to make it to the big leagues, but once he did, he shone brightly for the Milwaukee Brewers for a brief period.  The club called him up one week after the major league All-Star game in 1991 from Triple-A Denver, where he had notched 14 saves. In early August, three-time All-Star closer Dan Plesac decided he wanted to be a starter, so Henry took over the high-leverage role.  The right-hander saved 15 games and posted an incredible 406 ERA+. He earned enough votes to finish eighth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and would be the Brewers closer for the next two seasons, saving 46 games for Milwaukee.

Henry was drafted in the 16th round of the 1982 MLB Amateur Draft but instead elected to attend Arizona State University and was consequently selected in the eighth round of the 1985 draft by the Brewers. He was mostly a starter in his first two seasons at Single-A Beloit but was switched to the bullpen in 1988, where he would stay the rest of his career.

After his solid rookie campaign, Henry set a career-high with 29 saves in 1992, ranking in a tie for eighth in the American League, finishing well behind league leader Dennis Eckersley's 51 saves. Henry struggled in 1993, saving only 17 games while suffering seven blown saves. In 1994, Henry lost the closer's role to Mike Fetters and failed to earn a single save in 25 appearances. He spent 16 games in the minors at Double-A and Triple-A combined.  After the 1994 season, Henry was traded to the New York Mets for a pair of PTBNL, one of which would be infielder Fernando Viña, who would play five years in Milwaukee.

Henry bounced arounds the bigs the rest of his career, playing two years with the Mets, two years with the San Francisco Giants, three seasons with the Houston Astros, and one year in his final big league stop for the Kansas City Royals. Henry saved only 21 games in his last seven seasons, compared to 61 in three-plus years as a Brewer.

After his playing career ended, Henry coached at UW-Whitewater in 2004 and then spent the next two decades coaching in various organizations, including the Braves, Royals, and Angels. In 2025, Henry was the pitching coach for the Tri-City (Washington) Dust Devils, an Angels affiliate.

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