Mike Laga

Michael Russell Laga

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• School Bergen Community College, Fairleigh Dickinson University
• High School Ramsey High School
• Debut September 1, 1982
• Final Game October 3, 1990
• Born June 14, 1960 in Ridgewood, NJ USA

BR page

Career Highlights

Mike Laga was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round (17th overall) of the January 1980 amateur draft. He is profiled by Al Pepper in a book entitled Mendoza's Heroes.

He hit a total of 271 home runs as a professional, but only 16 of them came in the big leagues. He played on three pennant-winning teams (the Tigers in 1984, the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987 and the San Francisco Giants in 1989). On September 15, 1986, he became the first player to hit a ball completely out of Busch Stadium... but it was foul. He hit 32 home runs for the Daiei Hawks (Japan) in 1991. He had an excellent lifetime fielding percentage of .996 as a first baseman in the Major Leagues.

Further Reading

• David Laurila: "Mike Laga", in Mark Pattison and David Raglin, ed.: Detroit Tigers 1984: What A Start! What A Finish!, SABR Publications, Phoenix, AZ, 2012, pp. 106-109. ISBN 1933599448

Related Sites

• Mike Laga at the SABR Bio Project