John Paul Lazor (September 9, 1912 – December 9, 2002) was a backup

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played from 1943 through 1946 for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1943–1946). Born in

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Lazor provided four years of good services for the Red Sox while left fielder

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

and center fielder

Dom DiMaggio Dominic Paul DiMaggio (February 12, 1917 – May 8, 2009), nicknamed "The Little Professor", was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox (1940–1953). DiMaggio wa ...

were in the military service. His most productive season came in 1945, when he posted career-highs in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

(101), batting average (.310),

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

(35),

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(45), doubles (19) and

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (5). In a four-season career, Lazor was a .263 hitter with six home runs and 62 RBI in 224 games. He finished his professional career with the Portland Beavers of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, playing for them 280 games from 1947 to 1949. Lazor died in

Renton, Washington Renton is a city in King County, Washington, and an inner-ring suburb of Seattle. Situated southeast of downtown Seattle, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. As of the 2020 census, the ...

at the age of 90. Until the Red Sox signed

J.T. Snow Jack Thomas Snow Jr. (born February 26, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the San Franci ...

, who wore 84 in 2006, Lazor had worn the highest number in Red Sox history. Lazor previously had worn number 82 in 1943. In a December 2001 interview, Lazor said he did not know why he wore the number and claimed he thought he wore the number 29. Snow was later surpassed by

Alfredo Aceves Alfredo Aceves Martínez (born December 8, 1982) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Aceves used a fastball, which could reach the mid 90s, a ...

in 2011 for highest number worn in Red Sox history (Aceves wore number 91).

References

External links

Historic Baseball
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lazor, Johnny 1912 births 2002 deaths Boston Red Sox players Canton Terriers players Danville-Scholfield Leafs players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball outfielders Moultrie Packers players Baseball players from King County, Washington Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Scranton Red Sox players