Lave Cross
Born: 5/12/1866 in Milwaukee, WI, USA
Died: 9/6/1927 in Toledo, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1887-04-23 | Final Game: 1907-06-08
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'8" | Weight: 155 lbs
Full name: Lafayette Napoleon Cross
Biography
Lave Cross was a prominent figure in Major League Baseball during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1866, he played from 1887 until June 8, 1907, showcasing his talents primarily as a position player. Over the course of his career, Cross participated in 2,277 games, amassing an impressive 2,651 hits and achieving a robust batting average of .292. His offensive contributions included 47 home runs and 1,378 RBIs, underscoring his role as a key run producer for his teams. Additionally, he demonstrated speed on the basepaths, recording 303 stolen bases throughout his time in the league.
Cross played during a transformative period in baseball, where the game began to evolve from the deadball era into a more dynamic offensive style. His versatility and consistent performance made him an essential player for several teams, and his historical significance is marked by his ability to adapt to the changing landscape of the sport. Lave Cross remains a celebrated figure in baseball history, remembered for his impactful career and contributions to the game.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2277 | 9084 | 1338 | 2651 | 411 | 136 | 47 | 1378 | 303 | 466 | 217 | 0.292 | 0.329 | 0.383 | 0.711 | 3795.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1887 | LS2 | AA | 54 | 203 | 32 | 54 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 0.266 | -249.4 |
| 1888 | LS2 | AA | 46 | 180 | 20 | 41 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 0.228 | -564.0 |
| 1889 | PH4 | AA | 55 | 199 | 22 | 44 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 0.221 | -715.0 |
| 1890 | PHP | PL | 63 | 245 | 42 | 73 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 47 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 0.298 | 301.4 |
| 1891 | PH4 | AA | 110 | 402 | 66 | 121 | 20 | 14 | 5 | 52 | 14 | 38 | 23 | 0.301 | 1491.6 |
| 1892 | PHI | NL | 140 | 541 | 84 | 149 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 69 | 18 | 39 | 16 | 0.275 | 600.8 |
| 1893 | PHI | NL | 96 | 415 | 81 | 124 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 78 | 18 | 26 | 7 | 0.299 | -78.0 |
| 1894 | PHI | NL | 122 | 542 | 128 | 210 | 34 | 10 | 7 | 132 | 23 | 31 | 7 | 0.387 | 1947.5 |
| 1895 | PHI | NL | 125 | 535 | 95 | 145 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 101 | 21 | 35 | 8 | 0.271 | -1273.2 |
| 1896 | PHI | NL | 106 | 406 | 63 | 104 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 73 | 8 | 32 | 14 | 0.256 | -999.4 |
| 1897 | PHI | NL | 88 | 344 | 37 | 89 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 0.259 | -996.5 |
| 1898 | STL | NL | 151 | 602 | 71 | 191 | 28 | 8 | 3 | 79 | 14 | 28 | 8 | 0.317 | 1023.2 |
| 1899 | CL4 | NL | 38 | 154 | 15 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.286 | -174.9 |
| 1899 | STL | NL | 103 | 403 | 61 | 122 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 64 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 0.303 | -174.9 |
| 1900 | BRO | NL | 117 | 461 | 73 | 135 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 67 | 20 | 25 | 5 | 0.293 | -48.6 |
| 1900 | STL | NL | 16 | 61 | 6 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.295 | -48.6 |
| 1901 | PHA | AL | 100 | 424 | 82 | 139 | 28 | 12 | 2 | 73 | 23 | 19 | 6 | 0.328 | 1356.7 |
| 1902 | PHA | AL | 137 | 559 | 90 | 191 | 39 | 8 | 0 | 108 | 25 | 27 | 4 | 0.342 | 2223.0 |
| 1903 | PHA | AL | 137 | 559 | 60 | 163 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 90 | 14 | 10 | 17 | 0.292 | -227.4 |
| 1904 | PHA | AL | 155 | 607 | 73 | 176 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 71 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 0.290 | 909.8 |
| 1905 | PHA | AL | 147 | 587 | 69 | 156 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 77 | 8 | 26 | 12 | 0.266 | -128.5 |
| 1906 | WSN | AL | 130 | 494 | 55 | 130 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 46 | 19 | 28 | 16 | 0.263 | -39.2 |
| 1907 | WSN | AL | 41 | 161 | 13 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0.199 | -488.7 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.105 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | WS | PHA | 5 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.105 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 7 | 0 | 67 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 2B | 60 | 0 | 111 | 179 | 11 | 21 |
| 3B | 1724 | 473 | 2310 | 3715 | 397 | 212 |
| C | 324 | 0 | 1473 | 419 | 138 | 38 |
| OF | 118 | 0 | 186 | 16 | 18 | 6 |
| SS | 65 | 0 | 115 | 219 | 23 | 31 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1887 | LS2 | C | 44 | 0 | 251 | 66 | 29 | 7 |
| 1887 | LS2 | OF | 10 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 1888 | LS2 | C | 37 | 0 | 202 | 60 | 20 | 3 |
| 1888 | LS2 | SS | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1888 | LS2 | OF | 11 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 1889 | PH4 | C | 55 | 0 | 278 | 102 | 27 | 7 |
| 1890 | PHP | C | 49 | 0 | 191 | 70 | 34 | 7 |
| 1890 | PHP | OF | 15 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1891 | PH4 | C | 43 | 0 | 212 | 38 | 16 | 5 |
| 1891 | PH4 | 2B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1891 | PH4 | 3B | 24 | 0 | 28 | 49 | 9 | 2 |
| 1891 | PH4 | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1891 | PH4 | OF | 43 | 0 | 56 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| 1892 | PHI | C | 39 | 0 | 158 | 32 | 6 | 5 |
| 1892 | PHI | 2B | 14 | 0 | 29 | 37 | 2 | 5 |
| 1892 | PHI | 3B | 65 | 0 | 97 | 148 | 21 | 5 |
| 1892 | PHI | SS | 5 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| 1892 | PHI | OF | 25 | 0 | 39 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1893 | PHI | C | 40 | 0 | 144 | 46 | 5 | 4 |
| 1893 | PHI | 1B | 6 | 0 | 60 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 1893 | PHI | 3B | 30 | 0 | 44 | 98 | 12 | 10 |
| 1893 | PHI | SS | 10 | 0 | 16 | 33 | 5 | 6 |
| 1893 | PHI | OF | 10 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1894 | PHI | C | 16 | 0 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1894 | PHI | 2B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1894 | PHI | 3B | 103 | 0 | 181 | 243 | 39 | 24 |
| 1894 | PHI | SS | 7 | 0 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 4 |
| 1895 | PHI | 3B | 125 | 0 | 191 | 308 | 32 | 23 |
| 1896 | PHI | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1896 | PHI | 2B | 6 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 4 |
| 1896 | PHI | 3B | 61 | 0 | 88 | 136 | 15 | 9 |
| 1896 | PHI | SS | 37 | 0 | 77 | 134 | 13 | 17 |
| 1896 | PHI | OF | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1897 | PHI | 2B | 38 | 0 | 68 | 120 | 7 | 10 |
| 1897 | PHI | 3B | 47 | 0 | 71 | 94 | 16 | 5 |
| 1897 | PHI | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1897 | PHI | OF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898 | SLN | 3B | 149 | 0 | 215 | 351 | 33 | 20 |
| 1898 | SLN | SS | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| 1899 | CL4 | 3B | 38 | 0 | 66 | 81 | 7 | 7 |
| 1899 | SLN | 3B | 103 | 0 | 157 | 277 | 18 | 25 |
| 1900 | BRO | 3B | 117 | 0 | 162 | 282 | 27 | 10 |
| 1900 | SLN | 3B | 16 | 0 | 11 | 39 | 2 | 1 |
| 1901 | PHA | 3B | 100 | 0 | 140 | 236 | 33 | 7 |
| 1902 | PHA | 3B | 137 | 0 | 185 | 306 | 30 | 18 |
| 1903 | PHA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1903 | PHA | 3B | 136 | 0 | 152 | 228 | 20 | 14 |
| 1904 | PHA | 3B | 155 | 155 | 164 | 247 | 28 | 15 |
| 1905 | PHA | 3B | 147 | 147 | 163 | 252 | 32 | 6 |
| 1906 | WS1 | 3B | 130 | 130 | 157 | 242 | 20 | 9 |
| 1907 | WS1 | 3B | 41 | 41 | 38 | 98 | 3 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 324 |
| First Base | 7 |
| Second Base | 60 |
| Third Base | 1724 |
| Shortstop | 65 |
| Left Field | 13 |
| Center Field | 34 |
| Right Field | 71 |