Player #27: Lafayette N. "Lave" Cross. Born Vratislav Kriz. Third baseman/catcher with the Washington Senators in 1906-1907. 2,651 hits, 47 home runs, and 303 stolen bases in 21 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Louisville Colonels in 1887-1888. In 1894 with the Philadelphia Phillies, he had one of his most productive seasons as he posted a .424 OBP with 128 runs scored and 132 RBIs in 593 plate appearances. At retirement in 1907, he ranked fifth in MLB history in hits and runs batted in. He captained the Philadelphia Athletics teams which captured two of the first five AL pennants.
Cross' SABR biography summarizes his brief, career-ending time in Washington: Cross was 39 years old. The strains of captainship, upon his own game and in relations with teammates and ownership, wore upon him. Yet, even as he sought a younger third baseman, Mack was grateful for Cross’s contributions. Consequently, he allowed Cross to come to an agreement with Washington, then released him to the Senators with no compensation in return that December.
Although Washington had finished in seventh place in 1905, and their promising young shortstop Joe Cassidy died before the 1906 campaign launched, the Senators played .500 ball through the first month. Cross started well, hitting .333 and scoring 16 runs through Washington’s first 21 games. But the team soon sank out of contention and finished seventh again. Cross contributed a .263 average (an OPS+ of 100) and led AL third basemen in fielding percentage, although his range metrics were below average.
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