Nap Lajoie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nap Lajoie |
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Lajoie in 1913
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| Second baseman / Manager | |||
| Born: September 5, 1874 Woonsocket, Rhode Island |
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| Died: February 7, 1959 (aged 84) Daytona Beach, Florida |
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| debut | |||
| August 12, 1896, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| August 26, 1916, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .339 | ||
| Hits | 3,252 | ||
| Home runs | 82 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,599 | ||
| Managerial record | 377–309 | ||
| Winning % | .550 | ||
| Teams | |||
As player
As manager
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Induction | 1937 | ||
| Vote | 83.58% (second ballot) | ||
Napoleon Lajoie (September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959) was a famous American professional baseball player. People also called him Larry Lajoie or "The Frenchman". He was mainly a second baseman and sometimes a player-manager, meaning he played and managed the team at the same time.
Lajoie played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Naps from 1896 to 1916. He also managed the Cleveland Naps team for a few years, from 1905 to 1909.
He started with the National League's (NL) Phillies in 1896. But in 1901, a new league, the American League (AL), started up. Many players, including Lajoie, moved to the new league. Lajoie joined Connie Mack's Athletics. That year, he set an amazing record for the highest batting average in the American League, hitting .426.
A year later, Lajoie moved to the Cleveland Bronchos. He was so popular in Cleveland that fans voted to change the team's name to the Napoleons, or "Naps" for short. This name stayed until after he left. Lajoie led the American League in batting average five times. He also led in hits four times. In 1914, he became one of the first players to get 3,000 career hits. Many people called him "the best second baseman in baseball history." He was chosen for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
Contents
Early Life and Baseball Beginnings
Napoleon Lajoie was born on September 5, 1874, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. His father, Jean Lajoie, was from Canada and moved to the United States. Napoleon was the youngest of eight children. He did not go to school for very long.
His father passed away when Napoleon was young. This meant he and his siblings had to work to help the family. Lajoie started working in a textile mill. He also began playing semi-professional baseball for his local team in Woonsocket. He used the name "Sandy" because his parents did not want him to play baseball. He also worked as a taxi driver, using a horse and buggy. People in his town called him "Slugging Cabby." Lajoie later said his father was very angry when he decided to play baseball. He also got the nickname "Larry" from a teammate who found his name hard to say.
As Lajoie's baseball skills became known, he played for other semi-professional teams. He earned about $2 to $5 per game, which was good money back then. In 1896, he joined the Class B New England League's Fall River Indians. He played different positions like center fielder, first baseman, and catcher. He earned $25 each week. He was a great player for the team, leading them in hits, doubles, triples, and home runs. Many big league teams noticed him.
Major League Career Highlights
Joining the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL) bought Lajoie and his teammate Phil Geier for $1,500 on August 9, 1896. The Phillies' manager, Billy Nash, originally wanted only Geier. But he got Lajoie too when the team insisted.
Lajoie played his first major league game on August 12, 1896, against the Washington Senators. He played first base and got a hit. Later, in 1898, his new manager, George Stallings, moved Lajoie to second base. The manager said Lajoie would have been good anywhere he played him.
Lajoie was a strong hitter. In 1897, he hit for a .363 average. In 1898, he led the NL in doubles and RBIs. He hit .378 in 1899, but he played fewer games because of an injury. In 1900, he broke his thumb and missed five weeks.
Moving to the American League Athletics
The Phillies' owner, John Rogers, had promised Lajoie a good salary. But Lajoie found out he was earning less than another star player. Feeling cheated, Lajoie decided to listen to offers from the new American League.
In 1901, Lajoie joined the Philadelphia Athletics. This team was owned by Benjamin Shibe and managed by Connie Mack. Lajoie signed a four-year contract for $24,000. He was considered the first big star to join the new American League. He was also the first player to earn $4,000 a year.
Lajoie's batting average in 1901 was an incredible .426. This became the highest single-season batting average in American League history. That year, he led all of baseball in doubles (48), hits (232), batting average (.426), and runs (145). He also led the AL in RBIs (125) and hit a career-best 14 home runs. Connie Mack said Lajoie played so easily it looked like he wasn't even trying.
The Move to Cleveland and the "Naps"
In 1902, a court ruling in Pennsylvania tried to stop Lajoie from playing for any team other than the Phillies. But a lawyer found that this rule only worked in Pennsylvania. So, the Athletics traded Lajoie to the Cleveland Bronchos.
Lajoie, known as "The Frenchman," arrived in Cleveland on June 4, 1902. Fans loved him right away. In his first game, 10,000 fans came to watch. The Bronchos' record improved a lot after Lajoie joined. He led all AL players with a .378 batting average that season.
To start the 1903 season, the Cleveland club changed its name from the Bronchos to the "Naps" in honor of Lajoie. This was after a fan poll. Lajoie had another great year, leading the AL in batting average with .344. He also led the league in slugging percentage.
In 1904, Lajoie became the team's manager. He still played incredibly well, leading all of baseball with a .376 batting average. He also led in hits, doubles, and RBIs. As a manager, Lajoie was sometimes too easy on his players.
Injuries and Managerial Challenges
In July 1905, Lajoie got a serious infection called sepsis from a spike injury. Dye from his stockings got into his blood. The injury was so bad that doctors even talked about amputating his leg. This injury kept him out of many games. A new rule was made after this, requiring players to wear white socks under their colored ones. The Naps' performance suffered greatly while he was out.
In 1906, Lajoie led the majors in hits (214) and doubles (48). The Naps finished third in the AL. In 1907, he missed 15 games because his sepsis came back. He also had an argument with a teammate, George Stovall, who accidentally broke a chair over Lajoie's head. Lajoie finished the season with a .301 average.
Lajoie was not happy with how the Naps were playing. He felt he couldn't win without more experienced players. In 1909, he told the team owner, Charles Somers, to find a new manager. Lajoie felt that being a player-manager hurt his own playing. He even offered to take a pay cut. Somers made Deacon McGuire the new manager.
In 1910, Lajoie had one of his best seasons. He led all of baseball with a .384 batting average and 227 hits. He also had a career-high 51 doubles. However, he missed many games in 1911 and 1912 due to injuries.
3,000 Hits and Final Seasons
On September 27, 1914, Lajoie made history. He hit a double and joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as the only players with 3,000 career hits. This was a huge achievement. However, his batting average that season was his lowest since he started playing. The Naps finished in last place, and Lajoie asked to be traded. He was sold back to the Philadelphia Athletics.
In 1915, Lajoie returned to the Athletics. He hit .280, but the team finished in last place again. The 1916 season was Lajoie's last in the major leagues. In his final game, he hit a triple. He was 41 years old and played in 113 games, hitting .246. The Athletics had their worst season ever that year.
Minor Leagues and Retirement
In 1917, Lajoie became the manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League. Even at 42, he won the league's batting title with a .380 average. His team also won a championship.
He later joined the Indianapolis Indians as a player-manager in 1918. On December 27, 1918, Lajoie announced he was retiring from baseball.
Years later, a newspaper story talked about Lajoie's amazing ability to guess what a pitcher would throw. He once faced a pitcher who tried to avoid throwing fastballs. Lajoie easily hit every pitch. Then, the pitcher aimed a pitch at Lajoie's head, and Lajoie hit it for a home run! He said, "That's the kind I eat."
Rivalry with Ty Cobb
For many years, Lajoie and Ty Cobb were two of the best players in the American League. Their statistics were often very close. In 1908, both Lajoie and Honus Wagner reached 2,000 career hits.
The rivalry between Lajoie and Cobb became very famous in 1910. A car company, Chalmers Auto Company, promised a new car to the player who won the batting title that season. This became known as the Chalmers Race. Fans and sports bettors followed their daily stats closely.
Cobb took the last two games off, thinking he had won the batting title. He had a .383 average, while Lajoie had .376. Lajoie and the Naps played a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns. In these two games, Lajoie got eight hits in a row. Some of these were bunt singles, where he hit the ball softly just in front of the fielders. This raised his batting average to .384, just a tiny bit higher than Cobb's.
Many players in the league liked Lajoie more than Cobb. There were rumors that a coach offered a bribe to the official scorer to help Lajoie. This led to an investigation by American League President Ban Johnson.
After the investigation, Johnson ruled that Cobb's batting average was actually higher, at .385. However, he also said that Lajoie's sacrifice bunt should have been counted as a hit, which would have made him 9-for-9. In the end, Chalmers decided to give a car to both players. Lajoie first said no, but then accepted it. Both players said they were happy with the outcome.
Even today, some baseball historians are not sure who truly won the 1910 batting title. It's a famous mystery in baseball history.
Legacy and Impact
Lajoie finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .338. His 3,243 career hits were the second most in MLB history when he retired. Only Honus Wagner had more. Lajoie's 2,522 hits in the American League was a record until Ty Cobb broke it.
He was one of the first players chosen for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1937. He was officially inducted on June 12, 1939, when the Hall opened. Lajoie received the most votes among his group of inductees.
Lajoie was known for his great defense at second base. He led the league in putouts and assists many times. He also led the league in double plays six times. Some baseball historians believe he was the greatest second baseman ever, considering both his hitting and fielding.
Lajoie passed away in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 7, 1959, at age 84. He had pneumonia. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him number 29 on their list of the "100 Greatest Baseball Players." He was also nominated for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
Lajoie is remembered in poems and songs, showing how important he was to baseball.
L is for Lajoie
Whom Clevelanders love,
Napoleon himself,
With glue in his glove.
In a 1911 baseball song by Ring Lardner, Lajoie is also mentioned: Who lost out in the battle of old Waterloo? I don't know, I don't know They say 'twas Na-po-le-on Maybe it's true Maybe so, I don't know The pink sheets don't print Mr. Bonaparte's face No stories about him today 'Cause he never could hold down that old second base Like his name sake Big Nap Lay'-ooh-way
Images for kids
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Lajoie in the dugout around 1908
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Nap Lajoie on a 1911 baseball card
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Nap Lajoie's plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
See also
In Spanish: Nap Lajoie para niños
