Nap Lajoie
The best player in the American League before the rise of Ty Cobb, Napolean Lajoie is considered one of the two or three greatest second baseman to ever play the game. His fame was so great that the Cleveland team was renamed in his honor. As a hitter, he is considered one of the best right-handers in history, and as second basemen only Rogers Hornsby and Joe Morgan rival his all-around offensive skill. In the field he was considered the finest fielding keystoner of the first 50 years of the 20th century. |
Full bio ⇓Played For
Philadelphia Phillies (1896-1900)
Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1902)
Cleveland Indians (1902-1914)
Philadelphia Athletics (1915-1916)
Managed
Cleveland Indians (1905-1909)
All-Time Rankings
Nap Lajoie ranks #4 among the Top 50 all-time at 2B. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1901
In a season in which foul balls did not count as strikes, Lajoie took advantage of the rule and batted an impressive .422 to easily win the batting title. He hit safely in his first 16 games of the season and was held hitless in just 17 of the 131 games he played. He led the league in every offensive category of importance. He slugged .643 and had an OBP of .463. He scored 145 runs in 131 games, collected 232 hits, 48 doubles, 14 homers, and drove in 125 runs. All of those totals were league standards. Lajoie also led second baseman in every defensive category. Consider this - the Baltimore Orioles led the new AL that year in batting, with a .294 mark. Lajoie's A's finished second at .289. Without Lajoie the team batted just .271 - so Nap raised his team's average by 18 points! We should remember however, that the 1901 American League was watered down. Lajoie was sort of like Michael Jordan playing in the CBA - a great player whose competition wasn't the best.
A few more facts about Lajoie's 1901 season:
He hit safely in 114 of his 131 games, being shut out just 17 times... Lajoie collected three hits on opening day, three more the next day, then four more in his third game against Boston. He hit in his first 16 games of the season before being blanked by Washington's Bill Carrick on May 17... Lajoie's toughest opponent was Clark Griffith of the White Sox, who held the second baseman hitless three times in 1901. Griffith later became mamager and owner of the Senators... Lajoie collected at least one hit off of every hurler he faced, except: Griffith, Carrick, Joe Yeager, Jerry Nops, George Winter, Frank Morrissey, Ted Lewis, John McNeal, Pete Dowling and Roscoe Hiller. Morrissey won just one game in his entire career, but could boast he was perfect against Lajoie.
Full Bio
In addition to leading the American League in every fielding category in two different seasons, Nap Lajoie won a Triple Crown and four batting titles, compiled 3,242 career hits, and compiled a lifetime batting average of .338. At one time or another, he led both leagues in RBI, slugging average, and fielding percentage, and was so well-loved that his team adopted his nickname as its own.
Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies, Lajoie hit .361 in 1897 and won the slugging championship (.569). By 1900 he had gathered five straight .300 plus seasons but was earning only $2,400, the league maximum. When Connie Mack offered him $4,000, he jumped to the new American League in 1901. The Phils sued Mack, and eventually the Pennsylvania Supreme Court barred Lajoie from playing with the Athletics. AL president Ban Johnson ordered that Lajoie be transferred to Cleveland where he could avoid Pennsylvania's jurisdiction but could still play in the AL; for the next few years Lajoie remained behind when the Indians traveled to Philadelphia.
The right-handed hitter won batting titles in 1903 (.344) and 1904 (.376) and was named Cleveland's player-manager in 1905; the team was renamed the Naps in his honor. Although the Naps improved, they never won a pennant under Lajoie, who resigned during the 1909 season to concentrate on playing.
Nap won a fourth, albeit tainted batting championship when he racked up seven bunt singles on the last day of the 1910 season, all because of the opposing manager's hatred for Ty Cobb, who was four points ahead. Seven decades later the controversy erupted anew as it was discovered that Cobb had been the beneficiary of a double entry of a game in which he had gone 2-for-3; Larry had the higher batting average in 1910, after all.
Born
Napoleon Lajoie was born on September 5, 1874, in Woonsocket, RI.
Died
February 7, 1959, Daytona Beach, FL
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: 2B
Primary Team: CLE
Major League Debut
August 12, 1896
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1896
Coming soon...
Nicknames
Larry, Poli
Similar Players
Honus Wagner
Related Players
Ty Cobb, Elmer Flick
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1936 |
BBWAA |
146 |
64.6% |
1936 |
Veterans |
2 |
% |
1937 |
BBWAA |
168 |
83.6% |
|
Awards and Honors
1901 AL Triple Crown
Feats
Lajoie won the American League's Triple Crown in 1901.
Milestones
On September 27, 1914, in the first game of a doubleheader against New York, Lajoie singled off Marty McHale for his 3,000th career hit.
Milestones
- September 27, 1914: 3000th Hit... Lajoie stroked a double off of Marty McHale for his milestone hit… Came in the first game of doubleheader.
Batting Feats
Notes
Lajoie and teammate Elmer Flick, who also ended up in the Hall of Fame, had a strained relationship. On one occasion, with Philadelphia in 1900, the two came to blows. According to one source, Flick embarrassed Lajoie in front of the team when he insulted Nap's attire. Flick considered Lajoie a hayseed of sorts, or so the story goes. At any rate, the two rarely socialized with each other while they played together for Cleveland. In 1907, when Detroit offered Ty Cobb in a straight-up deal for Flick, manager Lajoie agreed with Cleveland's front office and rejected the deal, despite his personal animosity toward Flick.
Hitting Streaks
31 games (1906)
21 games (1904)
Transactions
Before 1901 Season: Jumped from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Philadelphia Athletics; June, 1902: Purchased by the Cleveland Bronchos from the Philadelphia Athletics; January, 1915: Purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics from the Cleveland Indians.
Trivia Question
What future Hall of Famer was the only pitcher to hold Lajoie hitless in three games in 1901?
Trivia Answer
Clark Griffith of the White Sox.
Replaced
Lajoie's first regular job was as the Phillies' first baseman in 1897. He replaced future Hall of Famer Dan Brouthers, who signed a lucrative contract to play minor league baseball at the age of 39.
Replaced By
After hitting .246 with very little power for the A's in 1916 as their starting second baseman, Lajoie retired. Philadelphia tried to fill the gap at second with "The Pride of Snohomish," Roy Grover, a rookie. Grover hit .224 and never played regularly again after the 1917 season.
Best Strength as a Player
Fielding range and his hitting ability.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Lajoie was a bad-ball hitter for much of his career. He never met a pitch he didn't like. He could have been a little more patient and drawn more walks, but that's nitpicking. He hit .338 for his career.
Other stories on the Web about Nap Lajoie
Research Project Sheds Light on Lajoie ⇒
Learn More about Nap Lajoie
Search Amazon.com for Books about Nap Lajoie ⇒
Search for Nap Lajoie at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
