Hard to believe this 1904 Napoleon Lajoie APBA card hasn’t been featured on Monday yet. Thanks to Scott Fennessy for suggesting it.
As baseball historians know, Lajoie was so good, they named the team after him. This card is from the Cleveland Naps. In 1904, his .376 led the league. In fact, he also led in slugging and OBP as well. As far as pure stats go, he had 208 hits, 49 doubles, and 102 rbis which all paced the AL.
| Year | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 | CLE | 140 | 594 | 553 | 92 | 208 | 49 | 15 | 5 | 102 | 29 | 27 | 19 | .376 | .413 | .546 |
Why is this card so good? Well, when I saw it, my eyes were drawn to the “7s up on top”. That is, his 31-7 and 51-7. He has a 25-7 and a 55-7 too. At 15, he has an 11 to replicate his 29 stolen bases.
He does NOT have a 7 at 44 though. That’s because he has five zeroes. Thanks to his 49 doubles, 15 triples and 5 homeruns, he his a power threat.
Note that Nap has formidable bat control. I count three 31s on his card including a 21-31. I do NOT see a 13 on his card either. In 1904, Lajoie struck out just 19 times.
To add to all of this goodness, Lajoie is a Fielding One 2B-8.
thanks, Scott!
This card is similar to the latest version of his .426 ATA card. That card has another 8 and a second 11 at 25, this card has a 22 and an extra 31.