Lefty O'Doul
Francis Joseph O'Doul
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut April 29, 1919
- Final Game September 30, 1934
- Born March 4, 1897 in San Francisco, CA USA
- Died December 7, 1969 in San Francisco, CA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Lefty O'Doul was a .349 career hitter in the majors who won two batting titles. His career batting average puts him at # 6 on the all-time list, although his big-league career was short with only a bit more than 3,000 at-bats. For many years after he retired, he had stout proponents who said he belonged in the Hall of Fame. In 2007 voting by the Veterans Committee, he received 18% of the vote.
He started his career as a pitcher, playing four years in the American League with the New York Yankees (he was a teammate of Babe Ruth) and Boston Red Sox in his early 20's before hurting his arm. He became an outfielder and returned to the major leagues after some outstanding seasons in the minors.
He was a longtime manager in the Pacific Coast League, with the San Francisco Seals (1935-1951), the San Diego Padres (1952-1954), the Oakland Oaks (1955), the Vancouver Mounties (1956), and the Seattle Rainiers (1957). He compiled a record of 2,094-1,970 over 23 seasons in the minor leagues. He is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.
He also helped bring baseball to Japan, travelling there often.
He is remembered for working with a couple of young players on their hitting - Joe DiMaggio and Willie McCovey. He was modest about his work, though, saying:
"I refuse to take any credit for (DiMaggio). I was just smart enough to leave him alone." - Lefty O'Doul
The other two DiMaggios also played for O'Doul when he managed in San Francisco.
In later life O'Doul ran a restaurant in San Francisco, and was a well-known celebrity in town. The bridge across McCovey Cove at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA is named the Lefty O'Doul Bridge.
The character of Roy Hobbs, from the novel and film The Natural, is partly based on O'Doul.
Notable Achievements[edit]
- 1927 MVP Pacific Coast League, San Francisco Seals
- NL All-Star (1933)
- 2-time NL Batting Average Leader (1929 & 1932)
- NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1929)
- NL Hits Leader (1929)
- 2-time NL Singles Leader (1929 & 1932)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1929, 1930 & 1932)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1929)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1929)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 3 (1929, 1930 & 1932)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 3 (1929, 1930 & 1932)
- Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1933
Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]
Further Reading[edit]
- Richard Leutzinger: Lefty O'Doul, The Legend that Baseball Nearly Forgot, Carmel Bay Publishing Group, 1997.
- Lawrence Ritter: The Glory of Their Times, The Macmillan Company, New York, NY, 1966, pp. 243-250.
- Dennis Snelling: Lefty O'Doul: Baseball's Forgotten Ambassador, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2017. ISBN 978-0-8032-9096-9
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