Doc Lavan

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

Doc Lavan was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1924 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Browns, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,163 career games, he hit .245 with 954 hits, 7 home runs, and 377 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 .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

Doc Lavan — 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.

Doc Lavan 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
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

Doc Lavan — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home60519621674933179.251
Away55919301714584200.237

Last 10 Games — Batting

Doc Lavan — 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

Doc Lavan — 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

Doc Lavan — 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.

Doc Lavan Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 3
Second Base 10
Third Base 10
Shortstop 1126
Center Field 1

College History

Doc Lavan — 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

Doc Lavan: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 22, 1913 and the final game on May 4, 1924, Doc Lavan built the record summarized on this page. Lavan played for the St. Louis Browns (1913 to 1917), the Philadelphia Athletics (1913), the Washington Senators (1918), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1919 through 1924). Lavan played primarily as a shortstop and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on October 28, 1890, in Grand Rapids, MI, USA and a listed size of 5-foot-8 and 151 pounds. The bio records the death on May 29, 1952, in Detroit, MI, USA. Doc Lavan was the playing name; the full given name is John Leonard.

The batting record for Lavan: 1,163 games, 954 hits in 3,891 at bats, and a .245 average, along with 7 home runs, 377 runs batted in, and 71 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .288 and .308 give Lavan a career OPS of .596. Measured against the leagues Lavan played in, the .245 career average compares with a .267 league average over the same seasons, 8.1% below the league. In OPS terms, Lavan's .596 stands 13.4% below the league's .688.

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.
What was Doc Lavan's career batting average?
Doc Lavan batted .245 over his career, with 954 hits in 3,891 at bats.
How many RBI did Doc Lavan have?
Doc Lavan drove in 377 runs in his career.
Is Doc Lavan in the Hall of Fame?
No. Doc Lavan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.