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

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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	3767.7

Career AVG .292 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — +10.1% above league average.

Career OBP .329 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .383 vs. league average .352 across their career seasons — +8.8% above league average.

Career OPS 0.711 vs. league average 0.680 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1887	LS2	AA	54	203	32	54	8	3	0	26	15	15	14	0.266	.270 (-2%)	.331 (-4%)	.373 (-10%)	.705 (-7%)	-249.4
1888	LS2	AA	46	180	20	41	3	0	0	15	10	2	10	0.228	.238 (-5%)	.290 (-17%)	.319 (-24%)	.610 (-21%)	-564.0
1889	PH4	AA	55	199	22	44	8	2	0	23	11	14	9	0.221	.263 (-16%)	.334 (-18%)	.357 (-21%)	.691 (-20%)	-715.0
1890	PHP	PL	63	245	42	73	7	8	3	47	5	12	6	0.298	.260 (+14%)	.336 (-2%)	.351 (+22%)	.687 (+10%)	301.4
1891	PH4	AA	110	402	66	121	20	14	5	52	14	38	23	0.301	.254 (+18%)	.331 (+10%)	.343 (+33%)	.675 (+22%)	1485.3
1892	PHI	NL	140	541	84	149	15	10	4	69	18	39	16	0.275	.244 (+12%)	.316 (+3%)	.327 (+11%)	.644 (+7%)	600.8
1893	PHI	NL	96	415	81	124	17	6	4	78	18	26	7	0.299	.279 (+7%)	.356 (-4%)	.379 (+5%)	.735 (avg)	-78.0
1894	PHI	NL	122	542	128	210	34	10	7	132	23	31	7	0.387	.309 (+25%)	.379 (+12%)	.435 (+21%)	.814 (+17%)	1944.6
1895	PHI	NL	125	535	95	145	26	9	2	101	21	35	8	0.271	.296 (-9%)	.361 (-12%)	.399 (-9%)	.761 (-10%)	-1273.2
1896	PHI	NL	106	406	63	104	23	5	1	73	8	32	14	0.256	.290 (-12%)	.354 (-12%)	.387 (-11%)	.741 (-11%)	-999.4
1897	PHI	NL	88	344	37	89	17	5	3	51	10	10	15	0.259	.291 (-11%)	.354 (-20%)	.387 (-6%)	.741 (-13%)	-1005.8
1898	STL	NL	151	602	71	191	28	8	3	79	14	28	8	0.317	.270 (+17%)	.333 (+4%)	.347 (+17%)	.680 (+11%)	1024.5
1899	CL4	NL	38	154	15	44	5	0	1	20	2	8	0	0.286	.282 (+1%)	.343 (-5%)	.366 (-8%)	.710 (-7%)	-176.7
1899	STL	NL	103	403	61	122	14	5	4	64	11	17	3	0.303	.282 (+7%)	.343 (-3%)	.366 (+7%)	.710 (+2%)	-176.7
1900	STL	NL	16	61	6	18	1	0	0	6	1	1	2	0.295	.279 (+6%)	.338 (-10%)	.366 (-15%)	.705 (-12%)	-125.9
1900	BRO	NL	117	461	73	135	14	6	4	67	20	25	5	0.293	.279 (+5%)	.338 (-2%)	.366 (+2%)	.705 (avg)	-125.9
1901	PHA	AL	100	424	82	139	28	12	2	73	23	19	6	0.328	.271 (+21%)	.326 (+10%)	.359 (+29%)	.686 (+20%)	1356.4
1902	PHA	AL	137	559	90	191	39	8	0	108	25	27	4	0.342	.266 (+28%)	.321 (+16%)	.343 (+28%)	.665 (+22%)	2220.2
1903	PHA	AL	137	559	60	163	22	4	2	90	14	10	17	0.292	.261 (+11%)	.316 (-4%)	.345 (+3%)	.662 (avg)	-208.2
1904	PHA	AL	155	607	73	176	31	10	1	71	10	13	9	0.290	.246 (+18%)	.300 (+3%)	.321 (+18%)	.622 (+11%)	908.0
1905	PHA	AL	147	587	69	156	29	5	0	77	8	26	12	0.266	.248 (+7%)	.307 (-3%)	.322 (+3%)	.629 (avg)	-125.4
1906	WSN	AL	130	494	55	130	14	6	1	46	19	28	16	0.263	.247 (+6%)	.307 (-2%)	.315 (+2%)	.622 (avg)	-67.0
1907	WSN	AL	41	161	13	32	8	0	0	10	3	10	6	0.199	.245 (-19%)	.304 (-19%)	.308 (-20%)	.613 (-19%)	-487.2

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	OF	11	0	14	2	2	1
1888	LS2	SS	2	0	3	5	0	0
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	2B	1	0	1	4	1	1
1891	PH4	3B	24	0	28	49	9	2
1891	PH4	C	43	0	212	38	16	5
1891	PH4	OF	43	0	56	10	2	4
1891	PH4	SS	1	0	0	2	0	0
1892	PHI	2B	14	0	29	37	2	5
1892	PHI	3B	65	0	97	148	21	5
1892	PHI	C	39	0	158	32	6	5
1892	PHI	OF	25	0	39	3	5	0
1892	PHI	SS	5	0	4	16	1	2
1893	PHI	1B	6	0	60	5	3	7
1893	PHI	3B	30	0	44	98	12	10
1893	PHI	C	40	0	144	46	5	4
1893	PHI	OF	10	0	27	0	2	0
1893	PHI	SS	10	0	16	33	5	6
1894	PHI	2B	1	0	3	1	0	1
1894	PHI	3B	103	0	181	243	39	24
1894	PHI	C	16	0	36	5	1	0
1894	PHI	SS	7	0	10	19	2	4
1895	PHI	3B	125	0	191	308	32	23
1896	PHI	2B	6	0	10	17	1	4
1896	PHI	3B	61	0	88	136	15	9
1896	PHI	C	1	0	1	0	0	0
1896	PHI	OF	2	0	7	0	0	0
1896	PHI	SS	37	0	77	134	13	17
1897	PHI	2B	38	0	68	120	7	10
1897	PHI	3B	47	0	71	94	16	5
1897	PHI	OF	2	0	2	0	0	0
1897	PHI	SS	1	0	2	3	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	SLN	3B	16	0	11	39	2	1
1900	BRO	3B	117	0	162	282	27	10
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