Lou Criger

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1896-1912)

Lou Criger was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1896 to 1912 for 5 teams, including the Cleveland Spiders, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,012 career games, he hit .221 with 709 hits, 11 home runs, and 342 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .221
HR 11
RBI 342
H 709
OPS .584
PIV -4,852
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 165 lb
Born
2/3/1872 in Elkhart, IN, USA
Died
5/14/1934 in Tucson, AZ, USA
MLB Debut
1896-09-21
Last Game
1912-06-03

Full name: Louis Criger

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Career Batting Statistics

Lou Criger — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,012 3,202 337 709 86 50 11 342 58 309 225 .221 .295 .290 .584 -4,852

Career AVG .221 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 15.0% below league average.

Career OBP .295 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 8.1% below league average.

Career SLG .290 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — 14.4% below league average.

Career OPS .584 vs. league average .659 across their career seasons — 11.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lou Criger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1896 CL4 NL 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1897 CL4 NL 39 138 15 31 4 1 0 22 5 23 12 .225 .291 (-23%) .354 (-4%) .387 (-31%) .741 (-18%) -346.9
1898 CL4 NL 84 287 43 80 13 4 1 32 2 40 22 .279 .270 (+3%) .333 (+13%) .347 (+4%) .680 (+9%) 570.8
1899 SLN NL 77 258 39 66 4 5 2 44 14 28 10 .256 .282 (-9%) .343 (-3%) .366 (-9%) .710 (-6%) -221.7
1900 SLN NL 80 288 31 78 8 6 2 38 5 4 4 .271 .279 (-3%) .338 (-16%) .366 (-1%) .705 (-8%) -471.8
1901 BOS AL 76 268 26 62 6 3 0 24 7 11 9 .231 .271 (-15%) .326 (-18%) .359 (-23%) .686 (-21%) -844.2
1902 BOS AL 83 266 32 68 16 6 0 28 7 27 18 .256 .266 (-4%) .321 (+1%) .343 (+5%) .665 (+3%) 115.0
1903 BOS AL 96 317 41 61 7 10 3 31 5 26 31 .192 .261 (-26%) .316 (-19%) .345 (-11%) .662 (-15%) -773.0
1904 BOS AL 98 299 34 63 10 5 2 34 1 27 27 .211 .246 (-15%) .300 (-6%) .321 (-7%) .622 (-7%) -262.4
1905 BOS AL 109 313 33 62 6 7 1 36 5 54 20 .198 .248 (-20%) .307 (+5%) .322 (-16%) .629 (-6%) -81.9
1906 BOS AL 7 17 0 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 4 .176 — — — — 0.0
1907 BOS AL 75 226 12 41 4 0 0 14 2 19 17 .181 .245 (-26%) .304 (-18%) .308 (-36%) .613 (-27%) -783.5
1908 BOS AL 84 237 12 45 4 2 0 25 1 13 14 .190 .240 (-21%) .298 (-22%) .306 (-27%) .605 (-25%) -809.5
1909 SLA AL 74 212 15 36 1 1 0 9 2 25 22 .170 .244 (-30%) .306 (-15%) .312 (-41%) .618 (-28%) -758.8
1910 NYA AL 27 69 3 13 2 0 0 4 0 10 15 .188 .249 (-25%) .317 (-8%) .326 (-33%) .644 (-21%) -184.0
1912 SLA AL 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 1,012 3,202 337 709 86 50 11 342 58 309 225 .221 — — — — -4,852

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Lou Criger — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 26 1 6 0 0 0 4 2 3 .231

Playoff Batting by Year

Lou Criger — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1903 WS BOS 8 26 1 6 0 0 0 4 2 3 .231

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (973 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Lou Criger — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home48815071613519175.233
Away48515631623292132.210

Last 10 Games — Batting

Lou Criger — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1912-06-03 SLAMINL 210000010
1910-09-21 NYYCHWL 200000000
1910-09-20 NYYCHWL 200000002
1910-09-19 NYYCHWL 300000001
1910-09-18 NYYSLAL 301000100
1910-09-12 NYYBOSL 301000000
1910-09-10 NYYBOSL 300000001
1910-09-06 NYYPHAW 300000001
1910-09-05 NYYPHAL 200000011
1910-09-02 NYYBOSW 200000020

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Lou Criger — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 10 0 100 3 7 8
3B 1 0 1 3 1 0
C 984 455 4354 1342 170 102
OF 1 0 1 0 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Lou Criger — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1896 CL4 C 1 0 5 2 0 0
1897 CL4 1B 2 0 20 2 5 3
1897 CL4 C 37 0 129 35 11 1
1898 CL4 C 82 0 322 105 19 9
1899 SLN C 75 0 228 91 17 6
1900 SLN 3B 1 0 1 3 1 0
1900 SLN C 75 0 282 105 19 8
1901 BOS 1B 8 0 80 1 2 5
1901 BOS C 68 0 300 109 14 11
1902 BOS C 80 0 330 117 16 6
1902 BOS OF 1 0 1 0 1 0
1903 BOS C 96 0 491 156 14 10
1904 BOS C 95 93 502 112 12 7
1905 BOS C 109 104 539 147 20 5
1906 BOS C 6 5 46 7 1 0
1907 BOS C 75 74 288 109 9 12
1908 BOS C 84 80 380 120 10 11
1909 SLA C 73 73 387 98 7 16
1910 NYA C 27 26 120 28 1 0
1912 SLA C 1 0 5 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Lou Criger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 985
First Base 10
Third Base 1
Left Field 1

Awards & Honors

Lou Criger — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1908 Baseball Magazine All-Star C

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Lou Criger (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    George Gibson
    .236 avg, 15 HR
  2. 96
    Eddie Ainsmith
    .232 avg, 22 HR
  3. 96
    Oscar Stanage
    .234 avg, 8 HR
  4. 95
    Malachi Kittridge
    .219 avg, 17 HR
  5. 89
    Pat Moran
    .235 avg, 18 HR
  6. 86
    Bill Rariden
    .237 avg, 7 HR

Lou Criger: the record in brief

Lou Criger played a first major league game on September 21, 1896 and a last one on June 3, 1912. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Spiders (1896 to 1898), the St. Louis Perfectos (1899), the St. Louis Cardinals (1900), the Boston Americans (1901 through 1907), the Boston Red Sox (1908), the St. Louis Browns (1909 through 1912), and the New York Highlanders (1910). Criger, a catcher by primary position, both batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 5'10" and 165 pounds. Criger was born on February 3, 1872, in Elkhart, IN, USA. The bio records the death on May 14, 1934, in Tucson, AZ, USA. The given name on file is Louis Criger.

The batting record for Criger: 1,012 games, 709 hits in 3,202 at bats, and a .221 average, plus 11 homers, 342 RBI, and 58 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .295 and the slugging percentage .290, for an OPS of .584. Measured against the leagues Criger played in, the .221 career average compares with a .260 league average over the same seasons, 15.0% below the league.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lou Criger

What years did Lou Criger play?
Lou Criger played in Major League Baseball from 1896 to 1912.
Was Lou Criger a pitcher?
No. Lou Criger was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Lou Criger hit?
Lou Criger hit 11 career home runs with 709 hits.
What was Lou Criger's career batting average?
Lou Criger batted .221 over his career, with 709 hits in 3,202 at bats.
How many RBI did Lou Criger have?
Lou Criger drove in 342 runs in his career.
Is Lou Criger in the Hall of Fame?
No. Lou Criger has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.