Alfredo Lauri

Alfredo Lauri

• Bats Left, Throws Left

• Born August 7, 1935

Biographical Information

Alfredo Lauri twice had the best ERA in Italy. He also played outfield and first base regularly.

Lauri was 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 12 2/3 IP in the 1956 European Championship, also going 3 for 7 with a double and a walk offensively. He beat Germany in a complete game and Italy wound up with a Bronze Medal. Statistics are unavailable for Italy's top league until 1960, when Lauri hit .288/.397/.303 for Nettuno; he only pitched four innings, allowing four unearned runs. He hit only .204/.271/.315 and pitched three games in '61. In 1962, he batted .297/.411/.486 with 20 runs and 16 RBI in 18 games. He gave up 5 runs in 1 2/3 IP, going 0-1, and would not pitch in the next three seasons. During 1963, Lauri hit .271/.354/.371 with 16 runs in 18 games. In 1964, he batted .333/.398/.389 with 17 runs and 17 RBI in 18 contests. He was 3 for 11 with two doubles as Italy's 1B in the 1964 European Championship, when they won the Silver. He fell to .243/.327/.386 in 1965 but scored 44 times in 32 games. In the 1965 European Championship, Italy repeated as Silver Medalists and Alfredo was one of their top hitters, going 7 for 16 with a walk and a double.

Lauri hit .226/.296/.328 with 28 runs in 33 games for Nettuno in '66; returning to regular pitching duty, he had a 6-0, 1.93 record. He hit .256/.310/.391 in 1967 with 30 RBI in 29 games, while going 10-3 with a save and a 1.64 ERA (opponents hit only .191/.220/.270 against the 31-year-old). He was .23 behind ERA leader Carlo Passarotto. In 1968, Lauri was 13-5 with a 1.56 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 155 1/3 IP while opponents hit .197/.260/.263. He helped his own cause with a .293/.387/.478 batting line and 22 RBI in 28 games. He led Italy in wins and was 11 strikeouts behind leader Gianni Clerici.

Lauri turned in a 9-4, 1.51 campaign in 1969 to lead Italy in ERA, though he did not hit well (7 for 58, 11 BB, 2B). In 1970, he hit .233/.333/.349 and was 14-3 with a save and 1.15 ERA, opponents batting .188/.244/.221. He won his second straight ERA title. In the 1970 Amateur World Series, he led Italy in ERA (1.35) and had no decisions, a bright spot on a 1-9 team. In his last strong season offensively, he hit .344/.452/.426 in 1971 while going 12-2 with a save, 1.31 ERA and 101 strikeouts. He held opponents to a .179/.234/.232 batting line and came close to his third consecutive ERA title, losing by .12 to Giacomo Bertoni.

In 1972, the Nettuno veteran went 10-5 with a save and a 1.94 ERA, followed by seasons of 13-1, 2.74 and 5-0, 2.17. He saw declining action after that: 1-2, 1.72 in 6 games in 1975; 2-0, 3.24 in 1976; 0 runs in 1 1/3 IP in 1977 and 0 runs in 2 1/3 IP in 1978 at age 42.

In 172 pitching appearances from 1960-1978, he was 95-26 with a 1.74 ERA and .200/.258/.265 batting line. He hit .249/.335/.357 with 265 runs and 212 RBI in 360 games offensively. Through 2011, he was tied with Michele Romano for 18th in Italian Baseball League history in career wins, even though data from his 1950s seasons are missing and he did not pitch at all for three years.

In 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Source: Italian Baseball and Softball Federation