| Lefty O'Doul | |
|---|---|
 O'Doul in 1919 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born: March 4, 1897 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: December 7, 1969 (aged 72) San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB 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 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Japanese | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2002 |
Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Though he spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball, most notably for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies, he is best known for his career in the Pacific Coast League, where he was a star player and a successful manager. His .349 career batting average is the sixth highest in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB).
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 Pacific Coast League. He had some major-league success with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox from 1919 to 1923 as a relief pitcher. After developing a sore arm which forced him to give up pitching, he returned to the Pacific Coast League and transitioned into becoming a power-hitting outfielder. He returned to the majors in 1928, playing for the New York Giants. With the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brooklyn Robins, he won two batting titles. Traded back to the Giants in 1933, O'Doul became a World Series champion.
After his career ended, O'Doul returned to the Pacific Coast League, managing the San Francisco Seals from 1935 to 1951, as well as other Pacific Coast teams. What is considered by many to be his greatest contributions to baseball were the exhibition tours he undertook to Japan during which he helped with the training Japanese baseball players both before and after World War II, contributed to the popularity and success of professional baseball in Japan. For his efforts, O'Doul became the first American elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. O'Doul and Joe DiMaggio went to Japan with their wives.
Long after his death in 1969, O'Doul remains one of the most popular figures in his hometown of San Francisco. He was elected to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Lefty O'Doul Bridge, connecting the China Basin and Mission Bay neighborhoods, was named in his honor. The gate entrance of Oracle Park adjacent to the bridge was named the "Lefty O'Doul Gate" by the San Francisco Giants.