Doc Lavan

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1913-1924)

AVG .245
HR 7
RBI 377
H 954
OPS .596
PIV -7,347
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'8" / 151 lb
Born
10/28/1890 in Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Died
5/29/1952 in Detroit, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1913-06-22
Last Game
1924-05-04

Full name: John Leonard Lavan

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,163 3,891 338 954 134 45 7 377 71 209 376 .245 .288 .308 .596 -7,347

Career AVG .245 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — 8.1% below league average.

Career OBP .288 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 12.7% below league average.

Career SLG .308 vs. league average .358 across their career seasons — 14.0% below league average.

Career OPS .596 vs. league average .688 across their career seasons — 13.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1913 SLA AL 46 149 8 21 2 1 0 4 3 10 46 .141 .259 (-46%) .325 (-35%) .345 (-51%) .670 (-44%) -966.0
1913 PHA AL 5 14 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 .071 — — — — -966.0
1914 SLA AL 75 239 21 63 7 4 1 21 6 17 39 .264 .255 (+3%) .322 (-1%) .339 (avg) .661 (-1%) -44.7
1915 SLA AL 157 514 44 112 17 7 1 48 13 42 83 .218 .250 (-13%) .318 (-12%) .332 (-15%) .651 (-13%) -1022.4
1916 SLA AL 110 343 32 81 13 1 0 19 7 32 38 .236 .248 (-5%) .314 (-3%) .326 (-14%) .640 (-9%) -377.3
1917 SLA AL 118 355 19 85 8 5 0 30 5 19 34 .239 .248 (-4%) .312 (-9%) .323 (-10%) .635 (-10%) -527.8
1918 WS1 AL 117 464 44 129 17 2 0 45 12 14 21 .278 .255 (+9%) .318 (-5%) .326 (-1%) .645 (-3%) -304.1
1919 SLN NL 100 356 25 86 12 2 1 25 4 11 30 .242 .262 (-8%) .322 (-18%) .347 (-15%) .670 (-17%) -944.7
1920 SLN NL 142 516 52 149 21 10 1 63 11 19 38 .289 .271 (+6%) .331 (-4%) .363 (+3%) .694 (avg) -158.4
1921 SLN NL 150 560 58 145 23 11 2 82 7 23 30 .259 .286 (-10%) .344 (-16%) .395 (-11%) .739 (-13%) -1336.7
1922 SLN NL 89 264 24 60 8 1 0 27 3 13 10 .227 .285 (-20%) .345 (-22%) .397 (-33%) .743 (-28%) -1192.7
1923 SLN NL 50 111 10 22 6 0 1 12 0 9 7 .198 .282 (-30%) .344 (-23%) .390 (-28%) .734 (-26%) -472.5
1924 SLN NL 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 1,163 3,891 338 954 134 45 7 377 71 209 376 .245 — — — — -8,313

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 (1164 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home60519621674933179.251
Away55919301714584200.237

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1924-05-04 STLCHCL 200000000
1924-05-02 STLPITL 000000000
1924-04-27 STLCINW 200000000
1924-04-23 STLCHCL 200000000
1923-09-15 STLPHIL 000000000
1923-09-03 STLCHCL 000000010
1923-08-23 STLNY1L 111000000
1923-08-17 STLBROW 100000000
1923-08-15 STLBROL 100000000
1923-08-12 STLNY1W 200000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 0 14 1 1 1
2B 10 0 16 19 3 3
3B 9 0 8 20 2 1
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 1126 0 2451 3628 455 559

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1913 SLA SS 46 0 82 141 25 24
1913 PHA SS 5 0 6 12 0 0
1914 SLA SS 74 0 178 193 34 17
1915 SLA SS 157 0 313 475 75 81
1916 SLA SS 106 0 217 386 32 52
1917 SLA 2B 7 0 15 16 3 3
1917 SLA SS 110 0 229 338 47 67
1918 WS1 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1918 WS1 SS 117 0 275 354 57 43
1919 SLN SS 99 0 207 352 43 49
1920 SLN SS 138 0 327 489 50 77
1921 SLN SS 150 0 382 540 49 88
1922 SLN 3B 5 0 3 12 2 1
1922 SLN SS 82 0 169 246 28 39
1923 SLN 1B 3 0 14 1 1 1
1923 SLN 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1923 SLN 3B 4 0 5 8 0 0
1923 SLN SS 40 0 64 95 13 20
1924 SLN 2B 2 0 1 3 0 0
1924 SLN SS 2 0 2 7 2 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 3
Second Base 10
Third Base 10
Shortstop 1126
Center Field 1

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Hope College Holland MI 1909, 1910
University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 1912, 1913

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Doc Lavan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Arthur Irwin
    .241 avg, 5 HR
  2. 91
    Tommy Thevenow
    .247 avg, 2 HR
  3. 90
    Jose Lind
    .254 avg, 9 HR
  4. 87
    Barry McCormick
    .238 avg, 15 HR
  5. 87
    Skeeter Newsome
    .245 avg, 9 HR
  6. 86
    Tom Jones
    .251 avg, 4 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Doc Lavan

What years did Doc Lavan play?
Doc Lavan played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1924.
Was Doc Lavan a pitcher?
No. Doc Lavan was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Doc Lavan hit?
Doc Lavan hit 7 career home runs with 954 hits.