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Adding a bat
Boston Herald, August 1, 1927
RED SOX OBTAIN SLUGGER FROM INDIANS
Lefty O'Doul Obtained for Chapman, Henry
CLEVELAND--Yesterday afternoon, Lefty O'Doul brought his bags to the home clubhouse at Cleveland's League Park, stopped by his locker, said hello to a few teammates, and was then summoned to the manager's office.
Before he knew it, he was crossing to the visitors' clubhouse to greet the Boston Red Sox, his new teammates. O'Doul, who finished right behind one of those new mates, Pat O'Farrell, in the 1926 batting race, had just been traded for veteran shortstop Ray Chapman and minor league pitcher Dutch Henry.
"Sure, it came as a surprise," the jovial O'Doul said after the game. "I liked playing for the Indians. But, then again, I'm now on a first place team. And, I've played in Boston before, with the Braves, and I like the city. I will do my best to help the Red Sox win the pennant, and then the World Series."
The 30-year-old O'Doul is well-traveled, the Red Sox being the fifth major league team to employ him since his career began in 1919. He is batting .259, with five home runs and 41 RBI this season, but his new manager, Bill Carrigan, believes the true O'Doul is the player who hit .342 last year.
"O'Doul has a smooth stroke," Carrigan said. "He is going to bat second, in front of O'Farrell, Gehrig, and Frisch, so he should see a lot of good pitches."
The emergence of young infielder "Judy" Johnson made the trade of Chapman possible. Johnson, who is batting .316, has made the conversion to shortstop seamlessly, and is fielding like he has played there all his life...
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