Frenchy Bordagaray

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Frenchy Bordagaray

Bordagaray in 1936.
Outfielder / Third Baseman
Born: January 3, 1910(1910-01-03)
Coalinga, California
Died: April 13, 2000(2000-04-13) (aged 90)
Ventura, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right 
MLB debut
April 17, 1934 for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1945 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Career statistics
Batting average     .283
Home runs     14
Runs batted in     270
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Stanley George "Frenchy" Bordagaray (January 3, 1910 – April 13, 2000) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and third baseman. Bordagaray played for the Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Yankees between 1934 and 1945. He was well known for his colorful personality.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Bordagaray was born in Coalinga, California on January 3, 1910 to Dominique and Louise Bordagaray, who were original settlers of the San Joaquin Valley. Bordagaray was the middle of seven children.[2]

Bordagaray got his nickname from his mother.[1] His father wanted him to become a violinist.[1] He lettered in baseball, football, and track and field at Fresno State College (later renamed California State University, Fresno).[1]

[edit] Professional career

Bordagaray made his professional baseball debut in 1931 with the Sacramento Senators of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). At only 20 years of age, Bordagaray's father needed to provide his consent. Though his father initially refused and threatened to take the Senators to court, he changed is mind after visiting his son.[3] Fresno State's football coach, Stan Borleske, attempted to negotiate Bordagaray's release, but Senators owner Lewis Moreing refused.[3] Bordagaray led the PCL in batting average (.373) during the 1931 season.[3] He publicly held out during the offseason, which became an annual tradition for Bordagaray.[3]

While with the Solons, Bordagaray reportedly went to use the toilet during the ninth inning of a game. While he was off the field, the pitcher threw the ball, unaware he had no right fielder. The batter hit the pitch to right field, leading to a double. Manager Earl McNeely did not criticize Bordagaray, rather telling the pitcher to make sure his fielders were in place before throwing.[4]

The Chicago White Sox bought Bordagaray's contract from Sacramento for $15,000.[5] He batted .322 with a .344 on-base percentage (OBP) and .379 slugging percentage (SLG), with no home runs, two runs batted in in 29 games for the 1934 Chicago White Sox.[5] Evar Swanson reclaimed the role he held in 1933 as starting right fielder for Chicago, and Bordagaray was returned to Sacramento. He spent most of 1934 with the Senators, batting .321 with 34 doubles and a .433 slugging percentage.[5] He led Sacramento in average, though he did not make the PCL's top 10.

After the 1934 season, the Senators traded Bordagaray to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Johnny Frederick, Art Herring and cash. He hit .282 with a .319 OBP and .363 SLG with 18 steals and 69 runs scored for the 1935 Dodgers.[5] He was third in the National League (NL) in steals, four behind leader Augie Galan and two behind Pepper Martin.

I was making $3,000 a year playing baseball, so I figured I could at least have fun while I was not getting rich. But after I had [the mustache] about two months, Casey [Stengel] called me into the clubhouse and said, 'If anyone's going to be a clown on this club, it's going to be me.'

–Frenchy Bordagaray[1]

Bordagaray showed up at spring training with a mustache. He had grown his mustache when he had a bit role in The Prisoner of Shark Island.[1] This was scandalous, as baseball players were expected to be clean shaven at the time, as the last player believed to have worn a mustache was Wally Schang in 1914.[1] With nothing else to write about, sportswriters for the Dodgers encouraged Bordagaray to grow out his mustache and goatee.[6] The Brooklyn Eagle hosted a contest to determine what sort of beard Bordagaray should grow.[6] After a few months, Dodgers manager Casey Stengel made him shave.[6] Mustaches would not be seen in MLB again until Oakland Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley paid his players $300 each to grow facial hair in the 1970s.[1] Finley hosted a "mustache day", and invited Bordagaray to serve as master of ceremonies.[6]

During the 1936 season, he batted .315 with a .346 OBP and .419 SLG for the Dodgers, with 12 steals.[5] He was third among the team's regulars in average, behind Babe Phelps and Joe Stripp. His .991 fielding percentage was second among outfielders in the NL.

He's either the greatest rotten third baseman in baseball or the rottenest great third baseman. But he's never in between.

–Branch Rickey[7]

After the 1936 season, the Dodgers traded Bordagaray, Jimmy Jordan and Dutch Leonard to the St. Louis Cardinals to complete an August 1 trade in which the Dodgers agreed to send players to be named later to the Cardinals for Tom Winsett.[5] With the Cardinals, Bordagaray served as a utility man, backing up Don Gutteridge at third base and outfielders Joe Medwick, Terry Moore, Don Padgett and Martin. He batted .293 with a .331 OBP and .367 SLG.[5] In 1938, Bordagaray was used mostly as a bench player, as Enos Slaughter joined the team and Gutteridge and Moore both improved. Bordagaray batted .282 with a .325 OBP and .327 SLG with only two steals in 1938.[5]

After the 1938 season, the Cardinals traded Bordagaray to the Cincinnati Reds for Dusty Cooke. He struggled with the Reds in 1939, batting .197 with a .252 OBP and .254 SLG in 63 games.[5] In the 1939 World Series, he pinch ran twice for Ernie Lombardi, but did not play in the field or have a plate appearance.[5]

After the 1939 season, Bordagaray was sent with Nino Bongiovanni to the New York Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on August 5, in which the Reds sent players to be named later and $40,000 to the New York Yankees for Vince DiMaggio.[5] Bordagaray spent the 1940 season in the minor leagues, with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. The Yankees promoted Bordagaray in 1941. He hit .260 with a .325 OBP and .274 SLG in 36 games during the regular season, and appeared in one game during the 1941 World Series as a pinch runner for Bill Dickey.[5]

Before the 1942 season, the Dodgers purchased Bordagaray from the Yankees.[5] He hit .241 with a .279 OBP and .276 SLG in 48 games in 1942, and .302 with a .379 OBP and .384 SLG in 89 games during the 1943 season.[5] As Brooklyn's primary third baseman and leadoff hitter in 1944, Bordagaray hit .281 with a .331 OBP and .385 SLG with 85 runs in 501 at-bats, topping 100 games played for the first time since 1936. In 1945, he batted .256 with a .328 OBP and .355 SLG, fielding only .886 at third base, and coming in third in the league in errors, despite playing in only 57 games.[5]

The Dodgers released Bordagaray before the 1946 season. He spent 1946 with the Trois-Rivieres Royals of the Canadian-American League as a player-manager, winning both the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Manager of the Year awards.[8] In 1947, he was player-manager of the Greenville Spinners of the South Atlantic League.

[edit] Post-playing career

After his baseball career, Bordagaray owned restaurants and clubs in St. Louis and Kansas City and developed land as cemeteries in the Midwest. In 1961 he moved to Ventura, California, where he was supervisor of youth sports and recreation programs.[2] He was named to the Fresno County and Ventura County Sports Halls of Fame.[2] He was survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.[2]

[edit] References

Bibliography
  • Salin, Tony (1999). Baseball's Forgotten Heroes. McGraw-Hill. p. 187. ISBN 0809226030. 
In-line citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Goldstein, Richard (May 23, 2000). "Frenchy Bordagaray Is Dead; The Colorful Dodger Was 90". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/23/sports/frenchy-bordagaray-is-dead-the-colorful-dodger-was-90.html. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Stanley G. Bordagaray; Baseball Player". Los Angeles Times. April 15, 2000. http://articles.latimes.com/2000/apr/15/local/me-19733. Retrieved December 9, 2011. 
  3. ^ a b c d Meyers, Jeff (December 25, 1992). "THE NEWS OF THE DAY: Frenchy Bordagaray, an 82-Year-Old Great-Grandfather Living in Ventura, Shocked the Baseball Establishment in the 1930's With Such Gimmicks as Racing a Horse on Foot and Growning a Mustache, but His Flair Made Him a Media Darling". Los Angeles Times: p. 8. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/61853307.html?dids=61853307:61853307&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+25%2C+1992&author=JEFF+MEYERS&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=THE+NEWS+OF+THE+DAY+Frenchy+Bordagaray%2C+an+82-Year-Old+Great-Grandfather+Living+in+Ventura%2C+Shocked+the+Baseball+Establishment+in+the+1930%27s+With+Such+Gimmicks+as+Racing+a+Horse+on+Foot+and+Growning+a+Mustache%2C+but+His+Flair+Made+Him+a+Media+Darling&pqatl=google. Retrieved December 9, 2011.  (subscription required)
  4. ^ Salin, pg. 180-182
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Frenchy Bordagaray Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bordafr01.shtml. Retrieved December 16, 2011. 
  6. ^ a b c d Flaherty, Tom (June 21, 1984). "Baseball Faces Hairy Situation". The Milwaukee Journal: p. 1. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19840621&id=E2kaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4428,520941. Retrieved December 9, 2011. 
  7. ^ Salin, pg. 179
  8. ^ Pietrusza, David (1990). Baseball's Canadian-American League. McFarland, Jefferson. p. 64. 

[edit] External links
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