Nap Lajoie
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1896-1916)
Nap Lajoie was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1896 to 1916 for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Philadelphia Athletics, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 21 seasons. In 2,480 career games, he hit .338 with 3,243 hits, 82 home runs, and 1,599 RBI. Nap Lajoie was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937 and was a Triple Crown. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 47,526.
- 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
- Position
- Second Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 195 lb
- Died
- 2/7/1959 in Daytona Beach, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1896-08-12
- Last Game
- 1916-08-26
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1937 (BBWAA)
- Awards
- Triple Crown
Full name: Napoleon Lajoie
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,480 | 9,590 | 1,504 | 3,243 | 657 | 163 | 82 | 1,599 | 380 | 516 | 347 | .338 | .380 | .466 | .846 | 47,526 |
Career AVG .338 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +30.6% above league average.
Career OBP .380 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — +18.3% above league average.
Career SLG .466 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — +37.6% above league average.
Career OPS .846 vs. league average .660 across their career seasons — +28.2% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| 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 | PHI | NL | 39 | 175 | 36 | 57 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 11 | .326 | .290 (+12%) | .354 (-7%) | .387 (+40%) | .741 (+18%) | 390.3 |
| 1897 | PHI | NL | 127 | 545 | 107 | 197 | 40 | 23 | 9 | 127 | 20 | 15 | 25 | .361 | .291 (+24%) | .354 (+11%) | .387 (+47%) | .741 (+30%) | 2945.5 |
| 1898 | PHI | NL | 147 | 608 | 113 | 197 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 127 | 25 | 21 | 23 | .324 | .270 (+20%) | .333 (+6%) | .347 (+33%) | .680 (+20%) | 1980.9 |
| 1899 | PHI | NL | 77 | 312 | 70 | 118 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 70 | 13 | 12 | 7 | .378 | .282 (+34%) | .343 (+22%) | .366 (+51%) | .710 (+37%) | 2010.2 |
| 1900 | PHI | NL | 102 | 451 | 95 | 152 | 33 | 12 | 7 | 92 | 22 | 10 | 8 | .337 | .279 (+21%) | .338 (+7%) | .366 (+39%) | .705 (+24%) | 1747.3 |
| 1901 | PHA | AL | 131 | 544 | 145 | 232 | 48 | 14 | 14 | 125 | 27 | 24 | 9 | .426 | .271 (+57%) | .326 (+42%) | .359 (+79%) | .686 (+61%) | 6259.1 |
| 1902 | PHA | AL | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1902 | CLE | AL | 86 | 348 | 81 | 132 | 35 | 5 | 7 | 64 | 19 | 19 | 7 | .379 | .266 (+42%) | .321 (+31%) | .343 (+66%) | .665 (+49%) | 0.0 |
| 1903 | CLE | AL | 125 | 485 | 90 | 167 | 41 | 11 | 7 | 93 | 21 | 24 | 26 | .344 | .261 (+32%) | .316 (+20%) | .345 (+50%) | .662 (+35%) | 2942.1 |
| 1904 | CLE | AL | 140 | 553 | 92 | 208 | 49 | 15 | 5 | 102 | 29 | 27 | 19 | .376 | .246 (+52%) | .300 (+37%) | .321 (+70%) | .622 (+54%) | 5125.3 |
| 1905 | CLE | AL | 65 | 249 | 29 | 82 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 41 | 11 | 17 | 8 | .329 | .248 (+33%) | .307 (+23%) | .322 (+29%) | .629 (+26%) | 1040.7 |
| 1906 | CLE | AL | 152 | 602 | 88 | 214 | 48 | 9 | 0 | 91 | 20 | 30 | 19 | .355 | .247 (+44%) | .307 (+27%) | .315 (+48%) | .622 (+38%) | 3861.7 |
| 1907 | CLE | AL | 137 | 509 | 53 | 153 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 63 | 24 | 30 | 28 | .301 | .245 (+23%) | .304 (+14%) | .308 (+28%) | .613 (+21%) | 1777.0 |
| 1908 | CLE | AL | 157 | 581 | 77 | 168 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 74 | 15 | 47 | 20 | .289 | .240 (+20%) | .298 (+18%) | .306 (+22%) | .605 (+20%) | 2119.3 |
| 1909 | CLE | AL | 128 | 469 | 56 | 152 | 33 | 7 | 1 | 47 | 13 | 35 | 19 | .324 | .244 (+33%) | .306 (+23%) | .312 (+38%) | .618 (+31%) | 2480.2 |
| 1910 | CLE | AL | 159 | 592 | 94 | 227 | 51 | 7 | 4 | 76 | 26 | 60 | 18 | .383 | .249 (+54%) | .317 (+40%) | .326 (+57%) | .644 (+49%) | 5432.1 |
| 1911 | CLE | AL | 90 | 315 | 36 | 115 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 60 | 13 | 26 | 15 | .365 | .266 (+37%) | .336 (+25%) | .356 (+27%) | .693 (+26%) | 1561.3 |
| 1912 | CLE | AL | 117 | 448 | 66 | 165 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 90 | 18 | 28 | 11 | .368 | .268 (+37%) | .335 (+23%) | .358 (+29%) | .694 (+26%) | 2245.8 |
| 1913 | CLE | AL | 137 | 465 | 66 | 156 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 68 | 17 | 33 | 17 | .335 | .259 (+29%) | .325 (+22%) | .345 (+17%) | .670 (+20%) | 1913.7 |
| 1914 | CLE | AL | 121 | 419 | 37 | 108 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 14 | 32 | 15 | .258 | .255 (+1%) | .322 (-3%) | .339 (-10%) | .661 (-6%) | -385.2 |
| 1915 | PHA | AL | 129 | 490 | 40 | 137 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 61 | 10 | 11 | 16 | .280 | .250 (+12%) | .318 (-6%) | .332 (+7%) | .651 (+1%) | -114.3 |
| 1916 | PHA | AL | 113 | 426 | 33 | 105 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 15 | 14 | 26 | .246 | .248 (-1%) | .314 (-13%) | .326 (-4%) | .640 (-9%) | -652.5 |
| Career · 22 seasons | 2,480 | 9,590 | 1,504 | 3,243 | 657 | 163 | 82 | 1,599 | 380 | 516 | 347 | .338 | — | — | — | — | 44,680 | ||
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.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (2314 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1148 | 4303 | 713 | 1536 | 33 | 692 | .357 |
| Away | 1166 | 4566 | 647 | 1452 | 36 | 628 | .318 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916-08-26 | PHA | CLE | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1916-08-25 | PHA | CLE | L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-25 | PHA | CLE | L | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1916-08-24 | PHA | CLE | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-24 | PHA | CLE | W | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-23 | PHA | DET | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-22 | PHA | DET | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-21 | PHA | DET | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1916-08-19 | PHA | DET | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-18 | PHA | SLA | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 286 | 33 | 2798 | 135 | 37 | 137 |
| 2B | 2035 | 837 | 5496 | 6267 | 451 | 1050 |
| 3B | 21 | 15 | 26 | 53 | 5 | 4 |
| OF | 26 | 0 | 50 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| SS | 73 | 50 | 150 | 229 | 23 | 20 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | PHI | 1B | 39 | 0 | 363 | 11 | 2 | 27 |
| 1897 | PHI | 1B | 108 | 0 | 1079 | 37 | 18 | 45 |
| 1897 | PHI | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1897 | PHI | OF | 19 | 0 | 37 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 1898 | PHI | 1B | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1898 | PHI | 2B | 146 | 0 | 442 | 406 | 46 | 59 |
| 1899 | PHI | 2B | 67 | 0 | 224 | 236 | 22 | 39 |
| 1899 | PHI | OF | 5 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1900 | PHI | 2B | 102 | 0 | 287 | 341 | 30 | 69 |
| 1900 | PHI | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1901 | PHA | 2B | 119 | 0 | 395 | 381 | 32 | 60 |
| 1901 | PHA | SS | 12 | 0 | 35 | 43 | 2 | 3 |
| 1902 | PHA | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1902 | CLE | 2B | 86 | 0 | 270 | 283 | 15 | 49 |
| 1903 | CLE | 1B | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1903 | CLE | 2B | 122 | 0 | 366 | 402 | 36 | 61 |
| 1903 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1904 | CLE | 1B | 2 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1904 | CLE | 2B | 95 | 95 | 272 | 255 | 21 | 42 |
| 1904 | CLE | SS | 44 | 44 | 86 | 130 | 17 | 10 |
| 1905 | CLE | 1B | 5 | 5 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1905 | CLE | 2B | 59 | 58 | 148 | 177 | 3 | 25 |
| 1906 | CLE | 2B | 130 | 131 | 354 | 415 | 21 | 76 |
| 1906 | CLE | 3B | 15 | 15 | 20 | 40 | 5 | 3 |
| 1906 | CLE | SS | 7 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 2 | 2 |
| 1907 | CLE | 1B | 9 | 9 | 95 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 1907 | CLE | 2B | 128 | 128 | 314 | 461 | 25 | 86 |
| 1908 | CLE | 1B | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908 | CLE | 2B | 156 | 156 | 450 | 538 | 37 | 78 |
| 1909 | CLE | 1B | 8 | 8 | 89 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 1909 | CLE | 2B | 120 | 120 | 282 | 373 | 28 | 55 |
| 1910 | CLE | 1B | 10 | 10 | 114 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| 1910 | CLE | 2B | 149 | 149 | 387 | 419 | 28 | 60 |
| 1911 | CLE | 1B | 41 | 0 | 388 | 16 | 4 | 17 |
| 1911 | CLE | 2B | 37 | 0 | 91 | 93 | 10 | 16 |
| 1912 | CLE | 1B | 20 | 0 | 171 | 12 | 3 | 13 |
| 1912 | CLE | 2B | 97 | 0 | 241 | 249 | 21 | 49 |
| 1913 | CLE | 2B | 126 | 0 | 279 | 363 | 20 | 59 |
| 1914 | CLE | 1B | 31 | 0 | 300 | 18 | 5 | 22 |
| 1914 | CLE | 2B | 80 | 0 | 187 | 215 | 17 | 45 |
| 1915 | PHA | 1B | 5 | 0 | 49 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1915 | PHA | 2B | 110 | 0 | 251 | 332 | 23 | 61 |
| 1915 | PHA | 3B | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1915 | PHA | SS | 10 | 0 | 14 | 32 | 2 | 5 |
| 1916 | PHA | 1B | 5 | 0 | 52 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 1916 | PHA | 2B | 105 | 0 | 254 | 325 | 16 | 61 |
| 1916 | PHA | OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 288 |
| Second Base | 2036 |
| Third Base | 22 |
| Shortstop | 74 |
| Left Field | 5 |
| Center Field | 5 |
| Right Field | 18 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1908 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1901 | Triple Crown |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 11th | 7.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1911 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 13th | 5.0 | 64 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Nap Lajoie (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Nap Lajoie
See Nap Lajoie in Another Era
Nap Lajoie: the record in brief
Nap Lajoie played a first major league game on August 12, 1896 and a last one on August 26, 1916. The team column moves through the Philadelphia Phillies (1896 to 1900), the Philadelphia Athletics (1901 to 1916), the Cleveland Bronchos (1902), and the Cleveland Naps (1903 to 1914). Lajoie is listed as a second baseman at 195 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. The bio says Lajoie threw and hit right-handed. The recorded birth is September 5, 1874, in Woonsocket, RI, USA. Lajoie died on February 7, 1959, in Daytona Beach, FL, USA. The given name on file is Napoleon Lajoie.
The batting record for Lajoie: 2,480 games, 3,243 hits in 9,590 at bats, and a .338 average, plus 82 homers, 1,599 runs batted in, and 380 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .380 and the slugging percentage .466, for an OPS of .846. Set against a .259 league average for the same years, Lajoie's .338 average sits 30.6% above it.
Frequently Asked Questions about Nap Lajoie
- What years did Nap Lajoie play?
- Nap Lajoie played in Major League Baseball from 1896 to 1916.
- Was Nap Lajoie a pitcher?
- No. Nap Lajoie was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Nap Lajoie hit?
- Nap Lajoie hit 82 career home runs with 3,243 hits.
- Is Nap Lajoie in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Nap Lajoie was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
- What teams did Nap Lajoie play for?
- Nap Lajoie played for 3 teams: the Philadelphia Phillies (1896–1900), the Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1902, 1915–1916), and the Cleveland Naps (1902–1914).
- What awards did Nap Lajoie win?
- Nap Lajoie won the Triple Crown (1901).
- What were Nap Lajoie's career stats?
- In 2,480 games, Nap Lajoie had 3,243 hits, 82 home runs, 1,599 RBI, 1,504 runs, and 380 stolen bases, with a .338 batting average.
- What position did Nap Lajoie play?
- Nap Lajoie played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Nap Lajoie and how much did he weigh?
- Nap Lajoie was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 195 pounds.
- How many home runs did Nap Lajoie hit each season?
- Nap Lajoie's home runs by season: 4 in 1896, 9 in 1897, 6 in 1898, 6 in 1899, 7 in 1900, 14 in 1901, 7 in 1902, 7 in 1903, 5 in 1904, 2 in 1905, 0 in 1906, 2 in 1907, 2 in 1908, 1 in 1909, 4 in 1910, 2 in 1911, 0 in 1912, 1 in 1913, 0 in 1914, 1 in 1915, and 2 in 1916. His most in one season was 14, in 1901.
- What was Nap Lajoie's career batting average?
- Nap Lajoie batted .338 over his career, with 3,243 hits in 9,590 at bats.
- How many RBI did Nap Lajoie have?
- Nap Lajoie drove in 1,599 runs in his career.