The 1935 San Francisco Seals season was the 33rd season in the history of the San Francisco Seals baseball team. The team compiled a 103–70 record and won the PCL pennant.
| 1935 San Francisco Seals | |
|---|---|
| League | Pacific Coast League |
| Ballpark | Seals Stadium |
| City | San Francisco |
| Record | 103–70 |
| League place | 1st |
| Managers | Lefty O'Doul |
In January 1935, the Seals hired Lefty O'Doul as the team's player-manager.[1][2] O'Doul had played for the Seals at the start of his playing career and went on to play 11 years in the major leagues, winning National League batting titles in 1929 and 1932.[2] At age 38, he appeared in 68 games for the 1936 Seals, compiling a .269 batting average.[3] He continued as the Seals' manager through the 1951 season.[2]
Outfielder Joe DiMaggio, a 20-year-old native of the San Francisco Bay Area, was the team's brightest star.[3][4] Though he finished one point behind Ox Eckhardt in the competition for PCL batting championship,[5] DiMaggio was selected as the PCL's most valuable player, led the league in RBIs (154), runs scored (173), and triples (18), and ranked second with 34 home runs.[6] DiMaggio had been sold to the New York Yankees in November 1934, but on the condition that he would remain with the Seals for the 1935 season.[7]
In the PCL championship series, played in late September, the Seals defeated the Los Angeles Angels four games to two.[8]
Players
editBatting
editNote: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; SLG = Slugging percentage
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | Joe DiMaggio | 172 | 679 | 270 | .398 | 34 | .672 |
| C | Joe Becker | 75 | 207 | 77 | .372 | 0 | .483 |
| C | Larry Woodall | 79 | 257 | 91 | .354 | 0 | .412 |
| Steve Barath | 100 | 218 | 72 | .330 | 11 | .471 | |
| Lonny Backer | 154 | 525 | 163 | .310 | 0 | .392 | |
| 1B | Les Powers | 171 | 704 | 217 | .308 | 4 | .402 |
| Ted Norbert | 149 | 524 | 158 | .302 | 11 | .471 | |
| IF | Art Garibaldi | 171 | 731 | 218 | .298 | 7 | .432 |
| SS | Hal Rhyne | 150 | 523 | 154 | .294 | 1 | .373 |
| CF | Joe Marty | 159 | 609 | 175 | .287 | 6 | .417 |
Pitching
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Win percentage; ERA = Earned run average
| Player | G | IP | W | L | PCT | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Gibson | 38 | 252 | 22 | 4 | .846 | 3.46 |
| Win Ballou | 33 | 220 | 18 | 8 | .692 | 3.27 |
References
edit- ^ "O'Doul To Boss Seals This Year -- if Terry Consents". San Francisco Examiner. January 20, 1935. p. 9W – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Lefty O'Doul". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "1935 San Francisco Seals". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ^ "The forgotten story of ... Joe DiMaggio and the San Francisco Seals talent factory". The Guardian. May 21, 2015.
- ^ "Eckhardt Bat King". Los Angeles Times. September 24, 1935. p. II-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Josh Jackson (January 30, 2017). "DiMaggio's PCL stint was one for the ages". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ^ "DiMaggio, Seals Player To Join New York Yankees". San Bernardino Daily Sun. November 22, 1934. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "San Francisco Seals Take Coast League Pennant". The Klamath News. October 1, 1935. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
Further reading
edit- "The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957", by Dennis Snelling (McFarland 2011)
- "San Francisco Seals", by Martin Jacobs & Jack McGuire (Arcadia Publishing 2005)