Lefty O'Doul | |||
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Left fielder | |||
Born: San Francisco, California |
March 4, 1897|||
Died: December 7, 1969 San Francisco, California |
(aged 72)|||
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debut | |||
April 29, 1919, for the New York Yankees | |||
Last appearance | |||
September 30, 1934, for the New York Giants | |||
Career statistics | |||
Batting average | .349 | ||
Home runs | 113 | ||
Runs batted in | 542 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Member of the Japanese | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 2002 |
Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues, and also a vital figure in the establishment of professional baseball in Japan.
Born in San Francisco, California, O'Doul began his professional career as a left-handed pitcher with the minor-league San Francisco Seals of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He had some major-league success with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox from 1919 to 1923 as a reliever. He pitched in one notable game on July 7, 1923 that would go down in the record books. Relieving for starter Curt Fullerton, O'Doul gave up 16 runs over 3 innings of relief, with 14 of those runs coming in the 6th inning alone. Although errors committed by Red Sox fielders meant that only 3 of the 16 runs were earned, O'Doul set the major league record for most runs allowed by a reliever in one appearance, a record later equaled by St Louis Cardinals pitcher Johnny Stuart in 1925 and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dutch Schesler in 1931 (although both needed 8 innings to allow 16 runs). Following the season, O'Doul developed a sore arm, which forced him to give up pitching.
After the 1923 season, the New York Giants returned O'Doul to the Pacific Coast League, where he was converted to a power-hitting outfielder. In 1927 he became one of what are today four Pacific Coast League hitters to have had a 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases season, along with Joc Pederson (2014), Frank Demaree (1934), and Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri (1925).