Billy Lauder

{{Short description|American baseball player and coach (1874–1933)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Billy Lauder

|image=Billy Lauder.jpg

|width=175

|position=Third baseman

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1874|2|23}}

|birth_place=New York, New York

|death_date={{death date and age|1933|5|20|1874|2|23}}

|death_place=Norwalk, Connecticut

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=June 25

|debutyear=1898

|debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 26

|finalyear=1903

|finalteam=New York Giants

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.261

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=5

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=253

|teams=

Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|1898}}–{{mlby|1899}})
Philadelphia Athletics ({{mlby|1901}})
New York Giants ({{mlby|1902}}–{{mlby|1903}})

}}

William Lauder (February 23, 1874 – May 20, 1933) was an American professional baseball third baseman and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, and New York Giants.{{cite web|title=Billy Lauder|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/laudebi01.shtml|work=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=2009-10-07}}

Career

After attending Brown University, Lauder began his Major League career on June 25, 1898 for the Phillies, replacing fellow rookie Kid Elberfeld as the Phillies third baseman.{{cite book|title=The Baseball Rookies Encyclopedia|author1=Nemec, D. |author2=Zeman, D. |name-list-style=amp |page=62|year=2004|publisher=Brassey's|isbn=978-1-57488-670-2}} In 1898 he played in 97 games and got 95 hits in 361 at bats for a .263 batting average. He also had two home runs and 67 RBIs that season. In 1899, he played 151 games for the Phillies with 156 hits in 583 at bats for a batting average of .268, and 3 home runs, 90 RBIs and 74 runs scored. He recorded 210 putouts as a fielder, which remains one of the highest totals all time among Major League third basemen.{{cite book|title=The SABR baseball list & record book: baseball's most fascinating records|author=Spatz, L. & Society for American Baseball Research|page=313|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLZCJcgKdY0C&q=billy+lauder+baseball+sabr+1899&pg=PA313|year=2007|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4165-3245-3}} He was 6th in the National League in games played and 9th in outs made.

After not playing the Majors in 1900, Lauder played two games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901, getting one hit in eight at bats. In 1902 and 1903 he played for the Giants. In 1902, he played in 125 games, getting 114 hits in 482 at bats for a .237 batting average. His 20 doubles ranked 9th in the National League. In 1903, his final Major League season, he played in 108 games, getting 111 hits in 395 for a .281 batting average. His 17 sacrifice hits ranked 9th in the National League. For his career, Lauder played in 483 Major League games, with 477 hits in 1829 at bats for a batting average of .261. He had 6 home runs, 253 RBIs, 210 runs scored, a .292 on-base percentage and a .321 slugging percentage. As a fielder, he handled 1801 chances, all but 7 at third base, with 190 errors for a fielding percentage of .895.

After his playing career ended, Lauder became a lawyer after studying law at Harvard University, wrote a baseball book, and ultimately became an insurance salesman.{{cite web|title=Brown Alumni Magazine |url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/1420/40/ |accessdate=2009-10-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108101102/http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/1420/40 |archivedate=January 8, 2010 }} He also coached baseball at Columbia University and Yale University.{{cite web|title=Baseball at Columbia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/02/14/archives/baseball-at-columbia-thirtyeight-candidates-report-to-coach-lauder.html|work=The New York Times|date=February 14, 1913|accessdate=2009-10-07}}{{cite web|title=Yale Baseball Meeting; Coach Billy Lauder Outlines Plans for Building New Nine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/02/18/archives/yale-baseball-meeting-coach-billy-lauder-outlines-plans-for.html|work=The New York Times|date=February 8, 1916|accessdate=2009-10-07}} At Columbia, he coached future Hall of Famer Eddie Collins, where he first recognized and Collins' Major League potential and encouraged him to pursue a baseball career.{{cite book|title=Eddie Collins: A Baseball Biography|author=Huhn, R.|page=28|year=2008|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3287-5}} In 1925, when Collins was managing the Chicago White Sox, he hired Lauder as a White Sox coach.{{cite book|title=Eddie Collins: A Baseball Biography|author=Huhn, R.|page=216|year=2008|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3287-5}}