| Tony Lazzeri | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born:(1903-12-06)December 6, 1903 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: August 6, 1946(1946-08-06) (aged 42) San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 13, 1926, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 7, 1939, for the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .292 |
| Home runs | 178 |
| Runs batted in | 1,191 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1991 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Anthony Michael Lazzeri (December 6, 1903 – August 6, 1946) was an American professionalbaseballsecond baseman during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly with theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He was part of the famed "Murderers' Row" Yankee batting lineup of the late 1920s (including the1927 team), along withBabe Ruth,Lou Gehrig, andBob Meusel.
Lazzeri was born and raised inSan Francisco, California. He dropped out of school to work with his father as aboilermaker, but at the age of 18, began to play baseball professionally. After playing inminor league baseball from 1922 through 1925, Lazzeri joined the Yankees in 1926. He was a member of the originalAmerican LeagueAll-Star team in 1933. He was nicknamed "Poosh 'Em Up" by Italian-speaking fans, from a mistranslation of an Italian phrase meaning to "hit it out" (hit a home run).
Lazzeri is one of only 14 major league baseball players tohit for the natural cycle (hitting a single, double, triple and home run in sequence) and the only player to complete a natural cycle with agrand slam.[1] He also holds the American League record for themost RBI in a single game, with 11 on May 24, 1936. In that same 1936 game, he became the first major league player to hit two grand slams in one game. Lazzeri was posthumously inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame by theVeterans Committee in1991.
Lazzeri was born on December 6, 1903, to Augustine and Julia Lazzeri, who had emigrated from Italy. They lived in theCow Hollow district of San Francisco. Augustine worked as aboilermaker.[2]
At age 15, Lazzeri was expelled from school. He began to work with his father, earning $4.50 a day ($94 in current dollar terms).[2] Lazzeri also playedsemi-professionalbaseball and trained to become aprizefighter.[2]
A friend of Lazzeri convincedDuffy Lewis, who managed theSalt Lake City Bees of thePacific Coast League (PCL), to allow Lazzeri to try out for the team in 1922. Lazzeri made the team, earning $250 a month ($4,696 in current dollar terms) as autility infielder. He batted .192 in 45 games, and was demoted to thePeoria Tractors of theIllinois–Indiana–Iowa League in 1923 to gain more experience.[2]
Lazzeri batted .248 with 14 home runs in 135 games for Peoria, before being recalled to Salt Lake City. Starting atshortstop for the Bees in 1924, Lazzeri batted .285 with 16 home runs. However, Lewis gave the starting shortstop role toPinky Pittenger, and sent Lazzeri to theLincoln Links of theWestern League, where he batted .329 with 28 home runs in 82 games.[2]
Returning to Salt Lake City under new managerOscar Vitt in 1925, Lazzeri batted .355 with 60home runs and 222runs batted in (RBIs), the most RBIs in professional baseball history.[2] That year he became one of what are today fourPacific Coast League hitters to have had a 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases season, along withJoc Pederson (2014),Frank Demaree (1934), andLefty O'Doul (1927).[3] Though Salt Lake City had a working agreement with theChicago Cubs, the Cubs passed on Lazzeri due to hisepilepsy. TheCincinnati Reds passed on Lazzeri as well.Bill Essick, a scout for theNew York Yankees, convincedEd Barrow, the Yankees'general manager, to sign Lazzeri. Barrow agreed after receiving confirmatory reports from other scouts, includingEd Holly andPaul Krichell, as well as ensuring that Lazzeri's insurance policy would cover his illness.[2]
After the 1925 season, Barrow purchased Lazzeri from Salt Lake City in exchange for the rights toFrank Zoeller andMack Hillis and $50,000 ($896,490 in current dollar terms). Lazzeri signed a contract with the Yankees worth $5,000 ($89,649 in current dollar terms).[2]
Lazzeri debuted in the major leagues in 1926 as a member of the Yankees. ManagerMiller Huggins moved Lazzeri from shortstop to second base. Huggins paired Lazzeri withMark Koenig, also a rookie, as his double play combination.[2] In his rookie season, playing all 155 games, Lazzeri hit 18 home runs and had 114 RBIs. He finished third in theAmerican League (AL) in home runs behindBabe Ruth andAl Simmons, and tied for third in RBIs withGeorge Burns, trailing only Ruth.[2] The Yankees reached the1926 World Series, losing to theSt. Louis Cardinals. In abases loaded situation in the seventh inning of the deciding game,Grover Cleveland Alexander struck out Lazzeri to save the series for the Cardinals.[2][4]
With the1927 Yankees, known as "Murderer's Row" due to the strength of their batting lineup, Lazzeri batted .309 with 18 home runs and 102 RBIs. He finished third in the AL in home runs, behind only teammates Ruth andLou Gehrig. The Yankees finished the season with a 110–44win–loss record, and defeated thePittsburgh Pirates in the1927 World Series.[2][4] Baseball experts solicited byBilly Evans named Lazzeri the consensus best second baseman in the AL.[5] He incurred a muscle injury that threatened to end his season.[6] Nevertheless, Lazzeri returned to the team, and hit a keydouble off of Alexander in the1928 World Series, which the Yankees won.[7] Despite the games he missed, Lazzeri tiedJoe Judge for third place inMost Valuable Player voting, with the award being won byMickey Cochrane.[7][8][9]
Lazzeri had his career-high batting average of .354 in 1929. He hit two home runs for the Yankees in their1932 World Series victory. In 1933, Lazzeri was named to appear in the firstMLB All-Star Game, representing the AL against theNational League (NL).[2] He had a knee injury during the 1934 season.[10]
Lazzeri set an AL single-game record on May 24, 1936, when he recorded eleven RBIs.[11] That month, he also set records for most home runs in three consecutive games (6) and four consecutive games (7).[2] He hit agrand slam during the1936 World Series, only the second grand slam in World Series history.[12] Lazzeri scored the deciding run in the1937 World Series, as the Yankees defeated theNew York Giants.[13]
As a member of the Yankees through 1937, he averaged 79runs, 14 home runs, 96 RBIs and 12stolen bases, including seven seasons with over 100 RBI and five seasons batting .300 or higher (including a high of .354 in 1929). During this period, the Yankees won six American League pennants (1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936 and 1937) and fiveWorld Series championships (1927, 1928, 1932, 1936 and 1937).
The Yankees released Lazzeri following the 1937 season.[14] He signed with the Cubs as a player-coach for the 1938 season.[15] Though he received little playing time, the Cubs won the NL championship and appeared in the1938 World Series against the Yankees, which the Yankees won.[2] The Cubs released Lazzeri after the season, and he signed with theBrooklyn Dodgers for the 1939 season.[16] However, the Dodgers released him on May 13, after he batted .282 in 14 games.[17][18] The next day, Lazzeri signed with theNew York Giants, to replaceGeorge Myatt andLou Chiozza atthird base.[18] Lazzeri received his release on June 7.[19]
Lazzeri then returned to minor league baseball, where he managed the Class-AAToronto Maple Leafs of theInternational League for the remainder of the 1939 season[20] and entire 1940 season.
He played for theSan Francisco Seals of the PCL in 1941,[21][22] and was released after the season.[23]
He played for and managed thePortsmouth Cubs of thePiedmont League in 1942.[2]
Lazzeri served as player-manager of theWilkes-Barre Barons of the Class-AAEastern League in 1943,[24][25] posting a .271 batting average in 58 games.[2] However, he was asked to resign after that season.[26]
Before the 1923 season, Lazzeri married Maye Janes. The couple had one child, David Anthony Lazzeri (1931–2013).[2]
Lazzeri died in 1946 at age 42 from a fall the coroner said was caused by aheart attack[27][28] in hisMillbrae, California home. However, today, many[29] believe Lazzeri's fall was caused by anepilepticseizure rather than a heart attack.[30]
Although his offensive production was overshadowed by the historic accomplishments of teammates such asBabe Ruth,Lou Gehrig andJoe DiMaggio, Lazzeri is still considered one of the top hitting second basemen of his era. Koenig considered Lazzeri the team's most valuable player.[7] He finished his career with a .292 batting average, 986 runs, 178 home runs, 1,191 RBI and 148 stolen bases. Despite his hitting 60 home runs in an extended PCL season in 1925, Lazzeri never hit more than 18 home runs in a major league season (a mark he reached four times).
Lazzeri holds the American League record for most RBIs in a game with 11, set May 24, 1936, as he also became the first major league player to hit twogrand slams in one game. He holds the major league record of 15 RBIs in consecutive games (one more thanRudy York in 1946 andSammy Sosa in 2002). He also set major league records of six home runs in three consecutive games, and seven in four consecutive games. Lazzeri continues to share the consecutive-game American League record, but the three-game record was topped byShawn Green of the Dodgers (seven in 2002) and the four-game mark was broken byRalph Kiner of thePittsburgh Pirates (eight in 1947). Lazzeri is also the only player in major league baseball to hit a natural cycle with the final home run being a grand slam on June 3, 1932.[31]
TheVeterans Committee elected Lazzeri to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.[32]
· Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle June 3, 1932 | Succeeded by |
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