Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie, also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "the Frenchman", he represented both Philadelphia franchises and the Cleveland Naps, the latter of which he became the namesake of, and from 1905 through 1909, the player-manager.
Lajoie in 1913
Lajoie c. 1908
Nap Lajoie on a 1911 American Tobacco Company baseball card
Nap Lajoie's plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play. In addition, second basemen are usually right-handed; only four left-handed throwing players have ever played second base in Major League Baseball since 1950. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4.
Nap Lajoie was the first second baseman to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
Cover of a 1905 how-to booklet