As a member of the San Francisco Giants, O\'Connell scored the first run in the first big-league baseball game played on the West Coast on April 15, 1958. After drawing a base on balls against Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning, he advanced to third base on another walk and a single before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jim Davenport. The Giants won, 8–0.\n', '

O\'Connell was a native of Paterson, New Jersey. He initially signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played four years in their farm system. He was sold to the Pirates after the 1949 season while still a minor leaguer, and called up in mid-July 1950. He proceeded to hit .292 (1950) and .294 (1953) in consecutive seasons bracketed by United States Army service during the Korean War (1951–52). O\'Connell finished third in voting for the 1950 National League Rookie of the Year and 16th in voting for the 1953 NL Most Valuable Player.\n', '

The Pirates then traded him to Milwaukee on December 26, 1953, getting six players and $100,000 in cash in return. Although he\'d been primarily a third baseman and shortstop with Pittsburgh, the Braves shifted him to second base, where he was a regular for 3​1⁄2 seasons (1954 through June 15, 1957). Then, at the trading deadline, the Braves sent O\'Connell to the New York Giants, along with outfielder Bobby Thomson and pitcher Ray Crone, for standout veteran second baseman Red Schoendienst, who helped lead Milwaukee to the 1957 World Series title.\n', '

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