Tony Lazzeri
⭐ Hall of Fame 1991
Born: 12/6/1903 in San Francisco, CA, USA
Died: 8/6/1946 in San Francisco, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1926-04-13 | Final Game: 1939-06-07
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 170 lbs
Full name: Anthony Michael Lazzeri
Biography
Tony Lazzeri was a prominent American baseball player born in 1903, whose career spanned from 1926 to 1939. A key figure in the New York Yankees dynasty of the late 1920s and early 1930s, Lazzeri played primarily as a second baseman and was known for his powerful hitting and versatility on the field. He appeared in 1,740 games throughout his career, accumulating 1,840 hits, 178 home runs, and 1,191 RBIs, while maintaining an impressive batting average of .292. Lazzeri also showcased his speed on the base paths, finishing his career with 148 stolen bases.
Lazzeri's significance extended beyond his individual statistics; he was a vital member of the Yankees' lineup during a transformative era for baseball, contributing to their success during the "live-ball" era. His blend of power and finesse helped redefine the role of the second baseman in Major League Baseball. After his retirement, Lazzeri was recognized for his contributions to the game and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. His legacy remains a testament to the impact he had on the Yankees and the sport as a whole.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.0 | 14.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.214 | 0.267 | 0.429 | 0.696 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 1929 | 11.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.300 | 0.364 | 0.600 | 0.964 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1740 | 6297 | 986 | 1840 | 334 | 115 | 178 | 1191 | 148 | 869 | 864 | 0.292 | 0.380 | 0.467 | 0.846 | 19084.3 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | NYY | AL | 155 | 589 | 79 | 162 | 28 | 14 | 18 | 114 | 16 | 54 | 96 | 0.275 | 934.0 |
| 1927 | NYY | AL | 153 | 570 | 92 | 176 | 29 | 8 | 18 | 102 | 22 | 69 | 82 | 0.309 | 2129.9 |
| 1928 | NYY | AL | 116 | 404 | 62 | 134 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 82 | 15 | 43 | 50 | 0.332 | 2018.0 |
| 1929 | NYY | AL | 147 | 545 | 101 | 193 | 37 | 11 | 18 | 106 | 9 | 68 | 45 | 0.354 | 3492.4 |
| 1930 | NYY | AL | 143 | 571 | 109 | 173 | 34 | 15 | 9 | 121 | 4 | 60 | 62 | 0.303 | 696.0 |
| 1931 | NYY | AL | 135 | 484 | 67 | 129 | 27 | 7 | 8 | 83 | 18 | 79 | 80 | 0.267 | 754.4 |
| 1932 | NYY | AL | 142 | 510 | 79 | 153 | 28 | 16 | 15 | 113 | 11 | 82 | 64 | 0.300 | 2547.1 |
| 1933 | NYY | AL | 139 | 523 | 94 | 154 | 22 | 12 | 18 | 104 | 15 | 73 | 62 | 0.294 | 2482.6 |
| 1934 | NYY | AL | 123 | 438 | 59 | 117 | 24 | 6 | 14 | 67 | 11 | 71 | 64 | 0.267 | 1016.9 |
| 1935 | NYY | AL | 130 | 477 | 72 | 130 | 18 | 6 | 13 | 83 | 11 | 63 | 75 | 0.273 | 644.7 |
| 1936 | NYY | AL | 150 | 537 | 82 | 154 | 29 | 6 | 14 | 109 | 8 | 97 | 65 | 0.287 | 1584.8 |
| 1937 | NYY | AL | 126 | 446 | 56 | 109 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 70 | 7 | 71 | 76 | 0.244 | 170.8 |
| 1938 | CHC | NL | 54 | 120 | 21 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 22 | 30 | 0.267 | 274.1 |
| 1939 | BRO | NL | 14 | 39 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 0.282 | 294.4 |
| 1939 | NY1 | NL | 13 | 44 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0.295 | 294.4 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 107 | 16 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 12 | 19 | 0.262 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | WS | CHN | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1937 | WS | NYA | 5 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.400 |
| 1936 | WS | NYA | 6 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0.250 |
| 1932 | WS | NYA | 4 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0.294 |
| 1928 | WS | NYA | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.250 |
| 1927 | WS | NYA | 4 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.267 |
| 1926 | WS | NYA | 7 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0.192 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2B | 1456 | 0 | 3351 | 4445 | 263 | 808 |
| 3B | 166 | 0 | 195 | 263 | 28 | 24 |
| OF | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 87 | 0 | 136 | 236 | 23 | 40 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | NYA | 2B | 149 | 0 | 298 | 461 | 31 | 72 |
| 1926 | NYA | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | NYA | SS | 5 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 2 |
| 1927 | NYA | 2B | 113 | 0 | 213 | 398 | 18 | 60 |
| 1927 | NYA | 3B | 9 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1927 | NYA | SS | 38 | 0 | 58 | 115 | 10 | 15 |
| 1928 | NYA | 2B | 110 | 0 | 236 | 331 | 26 | 56 |
| 1929 | NYA | 2B | 147 | 0 | 368 | 467 | 27 | 102 |
| 1930 | NYA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1930 | NYA | 2B | 77 | 0 | 184 | 245 | 13 | 39 |
| 1930 | NYA | 3B | 60 | 0 | 90 | 113 | 11 | 12 |
| 1930 | NYA | SS | 8 | 0 | 16 | 24 | 2 | 8 |
| 1930 | NYA | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931 | NYA | 2B | 90 | 0 | 216 | 288 | 22 | 52 |
| 1931 | NYA | 3B | 39 | 0 | 39 | 53 | 4 | 4 |
| 1932 | NYA | 2B | 134 | 0 | 362 | 405 | 17 | 70 |
| 1932 | NYA | 3B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933 | NYA | 2B | 138 | 0 | 338 | 407 | 25 | 71 |
| 1934 | NYA | 2B | 92 | 0 | 218 | 265 | 12 | 52 |
| 1934 | NYA | 3B | 30 | 0 | 36 | 51 | 6 | 7 |
| 1935 | NYA | 2B | 118 | 0 | 285 | 329 | 19 | 72 |
| 1935 | NYA | SS | 9 | 0 | 18 | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| 1936 | NYA | 2B | 148 | 0 | 346 | 414 | 25 | 88 |
| 1936 | NYA | SS | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937 | NYA | 2B | 125 | 0 | 251 | 382 | 22 | 64 |
| 1938 | CHN | 2B | 4 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| 1938 | CHN | 3B | 7 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1938 | CHN | SS | 25 | 0 | 33 | 54 | 5 | 11 |
| 1938 | CHN | OF | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | BRO | 2B | 11 | 0 | 28 | 36 | 6 | 9 |
| 1939 | BRO | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | NY1 | 3B | 13 | 0 | 11 | 21 | 4 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 1 |
| Second Base | 1457 |
| Third Base | 165 |
| Shortstop | 89 |
| Left Field | 2 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1930 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 3B |
| 1928 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1927 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 6.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1932 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 21.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1928 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 3rd | 27.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 11th | 8.0 | 64 | 1 |
| 1926 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 7.0 | 64 | 0 |