Mobile Site You Are Here > Home > Encyclopedia of Players > L Listing > Charlie Lau Statistics and History

News: Features: PI Batting Order Position Tool »post

 

Photo of Charlie Lau


Charlie Lau

Charles Richard Lau

Positions: Catcher and Pinch Hitter
Bats: Left, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 190 lb.

Born: April 12, 1933 in Romulus, MI
High School: Romulus (Romulus, MI)
Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1952. (All Transactions)
Debut: September 12, 1956
Teams (by GP): Orioles/Athletics/Braves/Tigers 1956-1967

Final Game: September 29, 1967
Died: March 18, 1984 in Key Colony Beach, FL
Buried: Moreland Memorial Park, Parkville, MD
    About biographical information


View team uniforms at Dressed to the Nines a Baseball Hall of Fame on-line exhibit / Report an error

Fan EloRater

Fine Details  · Last Updated Dec 23, 2011, 8:38AM
All-Time Rank (among Batters): #1. Babe Ruth… #2. Ted Williams… #3. Willie Mays… #4. Ty Cobb… #5. Lou Gehrig… #6. Rogers Hornsby… #7. Stan Musial… 

Standard Batting

More Stats

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
1956 23 DET AL 3 9 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .222 .222 .222 .444 18 2 0 0 0 0 0 /2
1958 25 DET AL 30 82 68 8 10 1 2 0 6 0 0 12 15 .147 .293 .221 .513 40 15 2 2 0 0 2 2
1959 26 DET AL 2 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .167 .167 .167 .333 -10 1 0 0 0 0 0 /2
1960 27 MLN NL 21 61 53 4 10 2 0 0 2 0 0 6 10 .189 .271 .226 .498 43 12 0 0 2 0 1 2
1961 28 TOT MLB 45 151 129 6 25 5 0 1 9 1 1 15 14 .194 .279 .256 .535 47 33 2 1 4 2 4 2
1961 28 MLN NL 28 102 82 3 17 5 0 0 5 1 1 14 11 .207 .323 .268 .592 64 22 1 1 3 2 3 2
1961 28 BAL AL 17 49 47 3 8 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 3 .170 .188 .234 .422 14 11 1 0 1 0 1 2
1962 29 BAL AL 81 208 197 21 58 11 2 6 37 1 0 7 11 .294 .319 .462 .781 113 91 3 1 1 2 1 2
1963 30 TOT AL 91 257 235 19 64 13 0 3 32 1 0 15 22 .272 .313 .366 .679 87 86 9 0 5 2 3 2
1963 30 BAL AL 29 50 48 4 9 2 0 0 6 0 0 1 5 .188 .204 .229 .433 24 11 2 0 1 0 0 /2
1963 30 KCA AL 62 207 187 15 55 11 0 3 26 1 0 14 17 .294 .340 .401 .741 102 75 7 0 4 2 3 2
1964 31 TOT AL 105 308 276 27 73 22 2 3 23 0 0 27 45 .264 .330 .391 .721 99 108 6 1 2 2 6 2
1964 31 KCA AL 43 129 118 11 32 7 1 2 9 0 0 10 18 .271 .326 .398 .724 97 47 1 0 0 1 1 2
1964 31 BAL AL 62 179 158 16 41 15 1 1 14 0 0 17 27 .259 .333 .386 .719 100 61 5 1 2 1 5 2
1965 32 BAL AL 68 152 132 15 39 5 2 2 18 0 0 17 18 .295 .371 .409 .780 120 54 5 0 1 2 5 2
1966 33 BAL AL 18 17 12 1 6 2 1 0 5 0 0 4 1 .500 .588 .833 1.422 306 10 0 0 0 1 0
1967 34 TOT MLB 63 60 53 3 10 2 0 1 8 0 0 6 11 .189 .267 .283 .550 59 15 1 0 0 1 2
1967 34 BAL AL 11 11 8 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 2 .125 .273 .250 .523 56 2 0 0 0 1 1
1967 34 ATL NL 52 49 45 3 9 1 0 1 5 0 0 4 9 .200 .265 .289 .554 60 13 1 0 0 0 1
11 Seasons 527 1311 1170 105 298 63 9 16 140 3 1 109 150 .255 .318 .365 .683 89 427 28 5 15 12 24
162 Game Avg. 162 403 360 32 92 19 3 5 43 1 0 34 46 .255 .318 .365 .683 89 131 9 2 5 4 7
G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
BAL (7 yrs) 286 666 602 60 162 36 6 10 87 1 0 49 67 .269 .323 .399 .721 100 240 16 2 6 7 13
ATL (3 yrs) 101 212 180 10 36 8 0 1 12 1 1 24 30 .200 .295 .261 .556 57 47 2 1 5 2 5
DET (3 yrs) 35 97 83 9 13 1 2 0 6 0 0 12 18 .157 .278 .217 .495 35 18 2 2 0 0 2
KCA (2 yrs) 105 336 305 26 87 18 1 5 35 1 0 24 35 .285 .334 .400 .734 100 122 8 0 4 3 4
AL (10 yrs) 426 1099 990 95 262 55 9 15 128 2 0 85 120 .265 .322 .384 .706 95 380 26 4 10 10 19
NL (3 yrs) 101 212 180 10 36 8 0 1 12 1 1 24 30 .200 .295 .261 .556 57 47 2 1 5 2 5

Player Value--Batters

WAR: 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Strtr, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl.
Year Age Tm Lg PA Rbat Rbaser Rroe Rdp Rfield Rpos Rrep RAR WAR oRAR oWAR dWAR Salary Pos Awards
1956 23 DET AL 9 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 -0.1 -1 -0.1 0.0 $ /2
1958 25 DET AL 82 -6 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 -0.1 -2 -0.2 0.1 $ 2
1959 26 DET AL 6 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 -0.1 -1 -0.1 0.0 $ /2
1960 27 MLN NL 61 -4 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 0.1 1 0.1 0.0 $ 2
1961 28 MLN NL 102 -5 -1 1 1 1 2 3 2 0.2 1 0.1 0.1 $ 2
1961 28 BAL AL 49 -6 0 -1 0 -1 1 1 -6 -0.6 -5 -0.5 -0.1 $ 2
1962 29 BAL AL 208 2 0 0 1 -6 3 6 6 0.6 12 1.3 -0.7 $ 2
1963 30 BAL AL 50 -5 0 0 0 0 0 1 -4 -0.4 -4 -0.4 0.0 $ /2
1963 30 KCA AL 207 0 0 -1 -2 -3 3 6 3 0.2 6 0.6 -0.4 $ 2
1964 31 KCA AL 129 -1 0 0 0 -2 2 4 3 0.3 5 0.5 -0.2 $ 2
1964 31 BAL AL 179 0 0 0 0 -2 3 5 6 0.6 8 0.8 -0.2 $14,000 2
1965 32 BAL AL 152 4 -1 1 -1 2 2 4 11 1.2 9 0.9 0.3 $15,000 2
1966 33 BAL AL 17 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.5 4 0.4 0.1 $
1967 34 BAL AL 11 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 -0.1 -1 -0.1 0.0 $
1967 34 ATL NL 49 -3 0 0 0 0 0 2 -1 -0.2 -1 -0.1 -0.1 $15,500
11 Seasons 1311 -23 -1 1 0 -10 18 36 21 2.1 31 3.2 -1.1 $44,500
BAL (7 yrs) 666 -2 -1 0 0 -7 9 17 16 1.8 23 2.4 -0.6 $29,000
ATL (3 yrs) 212 -12 -1 2 2 1 3 7 2 0.1 1 0.1 0.0 $15,500
DET (3 yrs) 97 -8 1 0 0 1 1 2 -3 -0.3 -4 -0.4 0.1 $
KCA (2 yrs) 336 -1 0 -1 -2 -5 5 10 6 0.5 11 1.1 -0.6 $

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Adv Fielding w/ run summary
Year Tm Lg Age Pos G GS CG Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% Rtot Rtot/yr RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG PB WP SB CS CS% PO Awards
1956 DET AL 23 C 3 3 2 23.0 17 17 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 6.65 5.67 .988 5.91 5.87 0 0 0 0 0
1958 DET AL 25 C 27 19 16 186.2 132 120 10 2 3 .985 1 6 6.27 4.81 .990 6.01 5.95 2 8 4 11 73% 0
1959 DET AL 26 C 2 1 1 11.0 12 11 1 0 1 1.000 0 0 9.82 6.00 .989 6.05 6.05 0 0 0 0 0
1960 MLN NL 27 C 16 13 12 123.2 105 94 11 0 2 1.000 0 0 7.64 6.56 .986 6.58 6.57 4 7 5 6 55% 0
1961 TOT MLB 28 C 42 37 33 336.2 222 204 13 5 4 .977 0 0 5.80 5.17 .987 6.33 6.25 2 4 15 6 29% 1
1961 MLN NL 28 C 25 24 21 217.2 125 114 7 4 2 .968 1 6 5.00 4.84 .985 6.39 6.32 1 2 9 5 36% 0
1961 BAL AL 28 C 17 13 12 119.0 97 90 6 1 2 .990 -1 -10 7.26 5.65 .989 6.21 6.14 1 2 6 1 14% 1
1962 BAL AL 29 C 56 40 39 389.1 285 269 15 1 1 .996 -6 -18 6.57 5.07 .989 6.30 6.28 11 9 30 5 14% 0
1963 TOT AL 30 C 58 57 54 493.2 333 306 20 7 3 .979 -3 -7 5.94 5.62 .989 6.64 6.64 5 11 30 9 23% 1
1963 BAL AL 30 C 8 8 7 66.0 55 48 5 2 1 .964 0 0 7.23 6.63 .989 6.64 6.64 0 1 2 1 33% 1
1963 KCA AL 30 C 50 49 47 427.2 278 258 15 5 2 .982 -3 -8 5.75 5.46 .989 6.64 6.64 5 10 28 8 22% 0
1964 TOT AL 31 C 82 74 49 611.0 451 422 25 4 2 .991 -4 -8 6.58 5.45 .990 7.07 7.06 6 20 37 8 18% 2
1964 KCA AL 31 C 35 32 24 262.1 193 179 12 2 0 .990 -2 -9 6.55 5.46 .990 7.07 7.06 1 10 21 4 16% 2
1964 BAL AL 31 C 47 42 25 348.2 258 243 13 2 2 .992 -2 -7 6.61 5.45 .990 7.07 7.06 5 10 16 4 20% 0
1965 BAL AL 32 C 35 32 17 262.0 176 165 9 2 1 .989 2 9 5.98 4.97 .988 6.96 6.94 1 5 8 4 33% 1
9 Seasons C 321 276 223 2437.0 1733 1608 104 21 17 .988 -10 -5 6.32 5.33 .989 6.62 6.59 31 64 129 49 28% 5
11 Seasons TOT 321 276 223 2437.0 1733 1608 104 21 17 .988 -10 -5 6.32 5.33 .989 6.62 6.59 31 64 129 49 28% 5
Note: Fielding stats are a combination of official records and RetroSheet records. Both are likely to have substantial errors and will not match perfectly.
View Complete Notes on Fielding Data
Leagues historically made no effort to balance team, league, and player fielding stats. Since 1990 or so, computers have made this feasible, but prior to that there are hundreds or thousands of discrepancies each year in games played (even whether a player played a position), putouts, assists, double plays and errors.
  • Pre-1950 SB & CS data for catchers is estimated from catcher assists, games started and opposition stolen bases.
  • From 1950 on SB, CS, Pickoff, & WP data for catchers and pitchers is taken from play-by-play accounts in the retrosheet files. There are several hundred games without pbp from 1950 to 1973 and for those we may not have any data.
  • CG & GS come from the retrosheet data and should be complete and pretty accurate from 1919 on.
  • Innings played (like SB and CS) come from the retrosheet play-by-play data and should be considered mostly complete from 1950 to 1973 and complete from then on.
  • Stats (PO,A,G, etc) for LF-CF-RF positions (since 1919) is taken from play-by-play or box score data as available.
  • Stats (PO,A,G,etc) for C,P,1B,2B,3B,SS,OF positions is taken from the official reported totals and may have been corrected at various times since their publication.
  • For detailed information on which games retrosheet is missing play-by-play from 1950 to 1973, please see their most wanted games list
  • For detailed information on the availability of data on this site by year, see our data coverage page

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank · Glossary

Errors Committed as C s c a p y
1963 AL  7 (3rd)

Passed Balls s c a p y
1962 AL  11 (5th)

Stolen Bases Allowed as C s c a p y
1964 AL  37 (2nd)

Total Zone Runs as C s c a p y
1958 AL  1 (5th)

Fielding % as C s c a p y
1964 AL  .991 (4th)

                                         

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Hall of Fame StandardsBatting - 3 (2527), Average HOFer ≈ 50

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores
Similar Batters 
 View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
 Compare Stats to Similars
  1. Carlos Hernandez (974)
  2. Bob Scheffing (972)
  3. Bill Sarni (967)
  4. Ray Lamanno (966)
  5. Sammy Taylor (965)
  6. Bob Montgomery (964)
  7. Fran Healy (962)
  8. Pat Collins (960)
  9. Vance Wilson (960)
  10. Greg Olson (959)
Most Similar by Ages 
 View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
 Hold mouse over #'s to see names
  1. Barry Lyons (980)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. Greg Olson (983)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Lenny Webster (976)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Carlos Hernandez (968)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Bob Scheffing (965)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C

Transactions

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. We attempt to update transactions throughout the season.

Salaries

Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses
Year Age Team Salary Sources Notes
196431Baltimore Orioles$14,000Noll/Fort/Hylan database
196532Baltimore Orioles$15,000Noll/Fort/Hylan database
196734Atlanta Braves$15,500Noll/Fort/Hylan database
Career to date (may be incomplete)$44,500
Salary Data (about) courtesy Doug Pappas, and the Society for American Baseball Research.
Salaries for mid-season call-ups or traded players may not be shown.

Other Resources & Links

Error?     Compare     Search SABR's Baseball Index     Other Links@google.com     Baseball Library     Baseball-Almanac.com     DeadBallEra Obituary     Retrosheet     The Baseball Cube     The Baseball Page     WhatIfSports: Charlie Lau    

Viewed 9,719 times through February 9, 2012.
Name and misspellings: Charles charles Charley Charlie Charly Chuck Richard Lau

Player Page Tricks and Tips

Sum any set of rows by clicking anywhere (not red or blue) on the first and last rows of your selection. We will then compute the totals for the player between and including those two seasons.
Default Setting for this feature: Turn On / Turn Off
Summation of season totals only works for the initial case when the table is in year order. On a sorted table the results may get a bit goofy.

HIGHLIGHTING: Adding a range or series of player's career seasons or career game numbers (like '#1972:batting_standard', '#1970-1980-sum:batting_standard', or '#1998,1999,2001,2002,sum:pitching_standard') onto the end of a player page url causes the seasons to the highlighted and summed. After changing address bar, reload the page to see highlighting. This will work even in links e-mailed to others. Note that for tables with multiple pages the first table is the default. If you want to create a sum for a table other than the first one, select the rows and after the summation window appears click on "permanent link" link.

The play-by-play information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet.