Nap Lajoie (1937)


Date of Birth: 9/5/1874
Date of Death: 2/7/1959
Birthplace: Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Nap Lajoie played semi-pro baseball in Rhode Island before joining the professional New England League in 1896. After 80 games with that league, the Philadelphia Phillies purchased his contract on August 1, 1896.

Philadelphia Phillies

Lajoie played in 39 games with the Phillies in 1896, and he had 57 hits, 12 doubles, 7 triples, and a .326 batting average. The next year, he batted .361 in 127 games. He finished the 1897 season with 197 hits, 40 doubles, a career high 23 triples, and 20 stolen bases.

Lajoie led the NL in doubles in 1898. He had 197 hits, 43 doubles, 11 triples, 24 stolen bases, and a .324 batting average in 147 games. Defensively, he led all NL second basemen in putouts with 442.

Lajoie played in only 77 games in 1899. He batted .378 with 118 hits. The next year, he batted .337 in 102 games. He finished the 1900 season with 152 hits, 33 doubles, 12 triples, and 22 stolen bases. He led all NL second basemen in double plays with 69.

Philadelphia Athletics

In 1901, Lajoie moved to the American League and the Philadelphia Athletics. He had perhaps his best season in 1901. He won the AL Triple Crown and he led the league in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, and OPS. He had career highs in hits (232), home runs (14), batting average (.426), on-base percentage (.463), and OPS (1.106). He had 48 doubles, 14 triples, 125 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases in 131 games. He also played well defensively, leading all AL second basemen in putouts with 395.

After just one game with the Athletics in 1902, Lajoie was traded to the Cleveland Bronchos/Indians.

Cleveland Bronchos/Naps (Indians)

Lajoie played in 86 games with the Bronchos in 1902. He led the AL in batting average with .378.

At the start of the 1903 season, the Cleveland team changed its name to the Naps in honor of Lajoie. He had another strong season that year, leading the AL in batting average (.344) and OPS (.897). He also led AL second basemen in double plays (61) and putouts (366). He finished the season with 167 hits, 41 doubles, 11 triples, and 221 stolen bases in 125 games.

Lajoie had another outstanding season in 1904, when he led the AL in batting average, hits, doubles, on-base percentage, and OPS. He finished the season with 208 hits, 49 doubles, 15 triples, a career high 29 stolen bases, and a .376 batting average in 140 games. His on-base percentage was .413 and his OPS was .965.

By 1905, the team respected Lajoie enough to make him their player-manager, a position he held until 1909, when he quit managing to focus more on his playing. He played in only 65 games in 1905, and he batted .329.

Lajoie again led the AL in hits and doubles in 1906. He had 214 hits, 48 doubles, and a .355 batting average in 152 games. He had a strong defensive season, leading all AL second basemen in assists (415), double plays (76), and putouts (354).

Lajoie's batting average dropped to .299 in 1907. He had 152 hits in 137 games. He played well defensively, once more leading AL second basemen in double plays (86) and assists (461). His batting average dropped further in 1908. He finished that season wtih 168 hits and a .289 batting average. Defensively, he again led all AL second basemen in assists (538), double plays (78), and putouts (450).

In 1909, Lajoie played in only 128 games. He had 152 hits, 33 doubles, and a .324 batting average. He had a strong season in 1910, when he played in a career high 159 games. He led the AL in games played, batting average, hits, and doubles. He batted .384 with 227 hits, a career high 51 doubles, and 26 stolen bases.

Lajoie continued to have strong seasons in 1911, 1912, and 1913. He played in only 90 games in 1911, but he batted .365 with 115 hits. The next year, he batted .368 with 165 hits and 34 doubles in 117 games. He played in 137 games in 1913, and he batted .335 with 156 hits and 25 doubles.

Lajoie had his worst season in 1914. He had 108 hits and batted just .258 in 121 games. After the season ended, he requested a trade back to the Athletics.

Return to the Athletics

In 1915, Lajoie played in 129 games with the Athletics. He batted .280 with 137 hits and 24 doubles. He struggled in 1916, his last year in the majors. He finished his final season with 105 hits and a .246 batting average in 113 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL Triple Crown
  • Led AL in hits (4 times)
  • Led league in doubles (5 times)
  • Led league in RBIs (3 times)
  • Led AL in batting average (5 times)
  • Led AL in on-base percentage (2 times)
  • Led AL in OPS (3 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Lajoie in 20 seasons (1897-1916) in the major leagues include:

  • 13 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 232 in 1901
  • 14 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 51 in 1910
  • 6 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 23 in 1897
  • 4 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 127 in 1897 and 1898
  • 10 seasons with 20 or more stolen bases, with a high of 29 in 1904
  • 15 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .426 in 1901

Career batting statistics for Lajoie include:

  • 2,480 games
  • 3,242 hits
  • 657 doubles
  • 163 triples
  • 1,599 RBIs
  • 380 stolen bases
  • .338 batting average
  • .380 on-base percentage
  • .847 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Lajoie at second base include:

  • 2,035 games played
  • 6,267 assists
  • 1,050 double plays
  • 5,496 putouts
  • 451 errors
  • .963 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After leaving major league baseball, Lajoie was a player-manager for two minor league teams in 1917. He retired from baseball at the end of December, 1918.

Lajoie was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937 on the second ballot with 83.6% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Nap Lajoie
ESPN - Nap Lajoie
Baseball Reference - Nap Lajoie

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