Charley Lau

Biography

Charles Richard Lau (April 12, 1933, in Romulus, Michigan – March 18, 1984) was an American catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball.

He was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent. After spending three season with the organization (1956, 1958–1959) he was traded (with Don Lee) to the Milwaukee Braves for Casey Wise, Don Kaiser, and Mike Roarke. After the Baltimore Orioles purchased him from the Braves in 1962, he adopted a contact hitter's batting stance (feet wide apart, bat held almost parallel to the ground). That season he had a .294 batting average with six home runs and thirty-seven runs batted in.

After hitting .194 in 23 games, he was sold by the Orioles to...