 In 1917 , Lajoie joined the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League as manager . At the age of 42 , Lajoie won the league 's batting title with batting average of .380 . He appeared in 151 of 156 games and for the first time in his career , played on a team that won a pennant . He later was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers for $ 3 @,@ 000 ( $ 47 @,@ 197 in current dollar terms ) in March 1918 but the contract was annulled by the Commissioner 's office and made a free agent to which Lajoie was " well pleased " . Later that same year he joined the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association as player @-@ manager . He helped lead the team to a third @-@ place finish but the season was impacted due to the U.S. ' s involvement in World War I. Lajoie made his services available to the draft board but they rejected his offer . On December 27 , 1918 , Lajoie announced his retirement from baseball . 
