Frenchy Bordagaray

46
Frenchy Bordagaray bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Frenchy Bordagaray : biography

January 3, 1910 – April 13, 2000

Stanley George "Frenchy" Bordagaray (January 3, 1910 – April 13, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and third baseman for the Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Yankees between 1934 and 1945. He had a .283 batting average for his career.

Bordagaray gained publicity through the press through his colorful personality and various gimmicks. He appeared in bit parts in movies and grew a mustache in a time when baseball players were expected to be clean shaven. He has been inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame, and the Fresno and Ventura County Sports Halls of Fames.

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 Midwestern United States. He sold graveyard plots in Coalinga, California. He moved to Ventura, California in 1961, where he was supervisor of youth sports and recreation programs in the Ventura Recreation Department.

Bordagaray was named to the Fresno County and Ventura County Sports Halls of Fame, as well as the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame. Proud of his publicity, he kept newspaper clippings in a scrapbook that weighs .

Bordagaray died in a nursing home in Ventura at the age of 90. He was survived by his wife of 52 years, Victoria, two sons, two daughters, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He is interred at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Coalinga.

Professional career

Early career (1931–1933)

Bordagaray made his professional baseball debut in minor league baseball with the Sacramento Senators of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) during the 1931 season. They originally gave him a three-week tryout without pay, so that he could retain his amateur status; at the end of the tryout, the Senators offered Bordagaray his first professional contract. 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 his mind after visiting his son. Fresno State’s football coach, Stan Borleske, attempted to negotiate Bordagaray’s release, but Senators owner Lewis Moreing refused.

Bordagaray led the PCL in batting average (.373) during the 1931 season. He publicly held out from the Senators for more money during the offseason, which became an annual tradition for Bordagaray. In the 1932 season, he batted .322 in games played. He followed this up by batting .351 in 117 games during the 1933 season.

While with the Senators, Bordagaray raced a horse in a 100 yard dash, losing by a few feet. During a game, Bordagaray reportedly went to use the toilet during the ninth inning. 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.Salin, pp. 180–182

Major League Baseball

Chicago White Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers (1934–1936)

The Chicago White Sox bought Bordagaray’s contract from Sacramento for $15,000 ($ in current dollar terms) in the spring of 1934. 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. Evar Swanson reclaimed the role he held in 1933 as starting right fielder for Chicago, and Bordagaray was returned to Sacramento in June, reclaiming their money. He spent the rest of 1934 with the Senators, batting .321 with 34 doubles and a .433 slugging percentage. 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. He was third in the National League (NL) in steals, four behind leader Augie Galan and two behind Pepper Martin.