Seven ships, (including two Italian battleships) were named after him, and whenever I see a list of top ten best naval commanders, his name seems to always be there. I have nothing against Andrea Doria, because he was a pretty cool guy, I'm just trying to figure out how it was that a commander who seems to have lost far more than he won achieved such a grand reputation in the annals of history.
In his youth, he won much more than he lost.
His fame probably mostly derives from regaining the independence of Genoa from the French, and then ruling Genoa (de facto, rather than de jure, as he refused to be appointed lord or doge of Genoa).
He also won a series of victories against the Ottomans, including the capture of Tunis.
Later in his life, he lost the battle of Preveza to the Ottomans, which was a bad defeat that gave the Ottomans control of the Mediterranean until the Battle of Lepanto.
He also lost the Battle of Ponza to the Ottomans, and lost Corsica to the French, but he was in his 80s when he commanded in these campaigns.