Posted By:
fkwFrank "Lefty" O'Doul
Started off as Left Handed Pitcher for SF of the PCL. Stayed close to home and played many season in PCL which many considered the 3rd Major League.
Injured his arm, then came back and became a great hitter (similar to Joe Wood, Babe Ruth, Rick Ankiel).
Best season in MLB
1929 .398 ave, 254 hits, 32 HRs, 122 RBIs (considered one of the best seasons of all time)
1930 .383
1932 .368
MLB lifetime .349 ave
4 different MLB season with more Homeruns than Strikeouts (very very tough)
Retired to the PCL to become a successful manager of San Francisco from 1937-51 and is considered the most successful manager in PCL history.
O'Doul was also instrumental in spreading baseball's popularity in Japan, serving as the sport's goodwill ambassador before and after World War II. The Tokyo Giants, sometimes considered "Japan's Baseball Team," were named by him in 1935 in honor of his longtime association with the New York Giants.
Probably the most famous and well liked player from San Francisco. The drawbridge only 200 feet behind ATT Park in San Francisco is named the Lefty O'Doul Bridge. Owned the very popular Lefty O'Doul's Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge.
Elected into the Bay Area Hall of Fame in 1981, and the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002