Charley Lau – Baseball Player Biography, Career, Net Worth Information

Charles Richard “Charley” Lau ended his 11-season Major League Baseball career in 1967 with the Atlanta Braves, closing out a playing chapter that was really just the start of his influence on the game. As a left-handed hitting catcher, he played in 527 games between 1956 and 1967, suiting up for four teams: the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Athletics.

Lau’s playing stats were pretty modest—a .255 batting average and 16 home runs—but his retirement as a player kicked off one of baseball’s most influential coaching careers. After leaving the field, Lau turned from a journeyman catcher into the sport’s most respected hitting instructor. He came up with techniques that shaped the swings of future Hall of Famers like George Brett and a bunch of other major leaguers.

Growing up in Romulus, Michigan, and finishing his career in Atlanta, Lau’s playing days built the foundation for coaching philosophies that really changed how hitters approached the batter’s box. His story covers both the grind of a backup catcher fighting for a spot and the wild evolution into a coaching legend whose methods still echo in baseball today.

Early Life and Entry Into Baseball

Charles Richard Lau was born April 12, 1933, in Romulus, Michigan, where he started loving baseball as a kid. The Detroit Tigers noticed his talent and signed him as an amateur free agent, kicking off his pro journey in their minor league system.

Childhood and Origins

Charles Richard Lau came into the world on April 12, 1933, in the small city of Romulus, Michigan. Growing up in this working-class town outside Detroit, he was surrounded by Michigan’s baseball culture in the 1940s.

His athletic talent showed up during high school at Romulus Senior High School. Lau became a skilled catcher, picking up fundamentals that would stick with him throughout his professional career.

Local scouts took notice of his dedication to the game. His high school performance hinted at the potential that would eventually open professional doors.

Romulus later honored Lau’s baseball achievements by naming the high school field the Charley Lau Baseball Field. That’s a pretty cool tribute.

Detroit Tigers Signing

The Detroit Tigers spotted Lau’s ability and signed him as an amateur free agent. This move started his professional baseball path in Major League Baseball.

Tigers scouts liked his work behind the plate. His catching skills made him a solid prospect for their minor league teams.

Signing with Detroit was a big step toward his major league dreams. The Tigers gave him the shot to develop his game in their farm system.

That first contract set the stage for what would become an 11-season playing career. Eventually, the Tigers’ investment in Lau paid off as he climbed their ranks.

Minor League Experience

Lau spent three seasons growing his skills in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system. These early years helped him sharpen his catching and work on his hitting.

In the minors, Lau learned how to handle pitchers and call games. That experience really helped when he finally got the call to the majors.

Lau’s performance steadily improved as he developed as a defensive catcher and a contact hitter. Tigers’ management started to pay attention.

He finally got his shot when he made his Major League Baseball debut at age 23 on September 12, 1956, against Washington. That marked the start of his career at the highest level.

Major League Playing Career

Charley Lau played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1967, catching and pinch hitting for four different teams. He started by fighting for playing time with the Detroit Tigers and later became a reliable backup with the Baltimore Orioles, where he enjoyed his best years and won a World Series in 1966.

Detroit Tigers Debut

Lau made his MLB debut on September 12, 1956, with the Detroit Tigers, after they signed him as an amateur free agent in 1952. His early years in Detroit weren’t easy—he barely got chances and struggled at the plate.

From 1956 through 1959, Lau played just 35 games for the Tigers, managing only 13 hits in 83 at-bats for a .157 average. Not exactly eye-popping numbers.

The Tigers barely used him, shuffling him between the majors and their Triple-A team in Charleston. He couldn’t lock down a regular spot, so eventually, the Tigers let him go.

Lau played winter ball in Cuba for Marianao in 1958 to keep working on his game. Even with his struggles, Detroit kept him around for three seasons before trading him away.

Milwaukee Braves Tenure

In October 1959, the Milwaukee Braves picked up Lau and pitcher Don Lee from Detroit for infielder Casey Wise, pitcher Don Kaiser, and catcher Mike Roarke. John McHale, a former Tigers exec now running the Braves, made the deal happen.

Lau spent 1960 as Del Crandall’s backup. He still couldn’t get his bat going, hitting just .189 in 21 games.

Crandall’s shoulder injury in 1961 gave Lau his biggest shot, and he started 24 games as the main catcher through early June.

On April 28, 1961, Lau caught Warren Spahn’s second career no-hitter, which had to be a career highlight. Even so, he kept struggling at the plate—batting .207 before the Braves sent him down to Triple-A Vancouver.

Baltimore bought his contract on August 21, 1961, ending his time with the Braves.

Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Athletics Years

Things started to change for Lau with the Baltimore Orioles, where he played most of his best ball. In 1961, though, he still had a tough time, hitting just .170 in limited action.

1962 was the real turning point. Lau changed his stance—feet wide apart, bat almost parallel to the ground—and suddenly he was a different hitter. He batted .294 in 81 games, hit six homers, and drove in 37 runs.

On July 13, 1962, Lau tied a major league record by smacking four doubles in one game. He was also clutch as a pinch hitter, batting .367 in that spot.

After a slow start in 1963, the Orioles sold him to the Kansas City Athletics on July 1. Playing more as a left-handed platoon catcher, Lau hit .294 for the last three months of the year.

Baltimore brought him back on June 15, 1964, trading Wes Stock to Kansas City. Lau split catching duties and helped the Orioles finish just three games behind the Yankees.

Atlanta Braves and Retirement

Lau spent his last MLB years mostly pinch hitting. In 1965, he played 35 games as a catcher and notched eight hits in 36 pinch-hit appearances, batting a career-best .295.

Right elbow surgery knocked him out for most of 1966, limiting him to just 18 games—all as a pinch hitter. He managed six hits and four walks while the Orioles won their first World Series.

He didn’t play in the 1966 World Series, since Baltimore never used a pinch hitter in their sweep of the Dodgers. Still, he got a championship ring—that had to feel like a high point.

In 1967, Lau started with the Orioles but had just one hit in eight at-bats. They sold him to the Braves (now in Atlanta) on May 31, 1967.

With Atlanta, Lau wrapped up his big league career with nine hits and four walks in 49 plate appearances. The Braves released him on November 27, 1967, and that was it for his playing days.

Career Statistics:

• Games: 527
• Batting Average: .255
• Home Runs: 16
• Runs Batted In: 140
• Pinch Hits: 47

Career Statistics and Performance

Charley Lau played 11 seasons in the majors, from 1956 to 1967, finishing with a .255 batting average over 527 games. His switch from trying to hit for power to focusing on contact in 1962 changed his career—and later, his coaching style.

Batting Average Overview

Lau’s .255 career average tells the story of a guy who found his groove after changing his approach. In Detroit, he struggled, hitting just .157 in 35 games from 1956 to 1959.

Things changed in 1962 with the Orioles. After a rough .170 average in 1961, Lau tweaked his stance—feet wider, bat almost parallel to the ground—and it paid off.

He immediately improved, batting .294 in 81 games in 1962, with 58 hits, six homers, and 37 RBIs. As a pinch hitter, he batted .367, which is no joke.

His best year came in 1965, when he hit a career-high .295. That year really showed how he’d become a reliable contact hitter who could deliver when it counted.

Hitting Style and Approach

Lau’s shift from power hitter to contact specialist became the backbone of his coaching later on. Early in his minor league days, he showed some pop, hitting double-digit homers three times between 1955 and 1959.

Later, he changed things up—feet spread wide, bat nearly parallel to the ground. He focused on making contact instead of swinging for the fences, and it made him more consistent.

The results? Pretty clear. On July 13, 1962, he smacked four doubles in a game, tying a big league record. He just kept finding the gaps.

Lau also shined as a pinch hitter in pressure situations, racking up 47 pinch hits in his career. He really knew how to deliver when the team needed him most.

Key Season Highlights

1962 was Lau’s breakout with Baltimore. He jumped 124 points in batting average from the year before, hitting .294 in 81 games and driving in 37 runs. He became a steady backup catcher.

In 1963, Lau split time between Baltimore and Kansas City. After a slow start (.194 in 23 games for the Orioles), he was sold to the A’s on July 1. He got more playing time and hit .294 for the last three months.

His best season, 1965, saw him hit .295 while moving into a full-time pinch hitter role. He played 35 games as a catcher and picked up eight hits and seven walks in 36 pinch-hit chances.

Across 527 games, Lau totaled 298 hits, 63 doubles, nine triples, 16 home runs, and 140 RBIs. Not Hall of Fame numbers, but he made the most of what he had.

Transition to Coaching

After retiring in 1967, Charley Lau found his real calling as a hitting instructor. He went from being a journeyman catcher to one of the most respected batting coaches in the game, coming up with new techniques that changed how hitters learned to swing.

Becoming a Hitting Instructor

Lau started coaching in 1969 with the Baltimore Orioles as their hitting coach. It was a pretty low-key beginning.

His big break came in 1970 with the Oakland Athletics. During spring training, Lau worked closely with outfielder Joe Rudi, convincing him to totally change his approach at the plate.

Rudi adopted a closed stance with a deep crouch and choked up on the bat. The results were immediate—Rudi hit .309 in 350 at-bats that season.

“It was the turning point of my career,” Rudi told Sport magazine. Lau’s success with Rudi put him on the map as a hitting coach.

Even though Oakland owner Charlie Finley fired both Lau and catcher Dave Duncan after 1970, Lau’s reputation was set. The Kansas City Royals hired him as their batting instructor soon after.

Coaching Philosophy

Lau came up with a systematic approach to hitting that focused on balance, rhythm, and transferring weight the right way. He always said hitters should start with a balanced stance, but he wanted them to have some movement and rhythm too.

He pushed hitters to really commit to a strong weight shift. They’d set up with a firm back side, then stride forward onto a solid front side.

Lau showed hitters how to swing through the ball without tension. His most debated technique? Letting go with the top hand after contact to get more extension.

Key Elements of Lau’s System:

• Balanced stance with rhythm
• Proper weight transfer from back to front
• Tension-free swing through the ball
• Top-hand release for extension (optional)

Some critics didn’t get the one-handed finish, asking, “How can you hit one-handed?” They missed the point that the release happened only after contact. Lau thought this extension worked better than just holding on with both hands after the ball left the bat.

He jumped into videotape analysis with hitters way before it was common. He spent hours breaking down tape to spot what worked and what didn’t.

Influence on Players

Lau made his biggest mark with the Kansas City Royals from 1971 to 1978. He worked with a bunch of young guys in the Royals’ system, and almost all of them improved at the plate.

His most famous student? George Brett. Brett became a Hall of Fame third baseman and always credited Lau for changing his career with tweaks to his stance and approach.

“After some experimentation and refinement, we came up with a stance and hitting approach for me that worked,” Brett said years later. “And little did I realize at the time what it was going to do and how it was going to change my life.”

With Lau’s help, Brett hit .308, .333, and .312 in three of his first four seasons. Other Royals who got a boost from Lau included:

• Amos Otis (outfielder)
• Hal McRae (designated hitter/outfielder)
• Willie Wilson (outfielder)

In 1976, Brett and McRae ended up battling each other for the AL batting title, both showing off Lau’s influence.

When the Royals let him go in 1978, Lau joined the New York Yankees. Players like Reggie Jackson and Oscar Gamble responded well to his coaching. Yankee first baseman Bob Watson said, “If I’d had a Charley Lau seven years ago, I’d be a much better hitter today.”

Coaching Career Highlights and Legacy

Lau didn’t have much of a playing career, but he turned into one of baseball’s most respected hitting coaches. His new ideas helped build Hall of Fame hitters like George Brett and Ron Kittle, and honestly, they changed how people teach hitting in the majors.

Kansas City Royals Period

Lau took over as the Royals’ hitting coach in 1971, which kicked off his best years as a coach. He stayed with the team through 1978, except for a short break in early 1975 when manager Jack McKeon took him off the staff.

He helped players like Hal McRae, Amos Otis, and Willie Wilson become batting champs. He even revived veteran Cookie Rojas’s career.

Lou Piniella, who played for the Royals from 1969 to 1973, called Lau “the greatest batting instructor of them all.” That’s high praise from someone who went on to manage himself.

Lau always drilled certain fundamentals:

• Balanced, workable stance
• Rhythm and movement in the stance
• Shifting weight from back foot to front foot
• Keeping the front toe closed when striding
• Bat in launching position when the front foot lands

Chicago White Sox Success

In 1982, Lau joined the Chicago White Sox as their hitting instructor. They gave him a six-year contract, which was pretty much unheard of for a non-manager coach. The team clearly believed in him.

He worked with guys like Greg Luzinski, Carlton Fisk, Steve Kemp, Harold Baines, and Ron Kittle. Manager Tony La Russa called Lau a genius and said he developed Kittle’s swing.

Lau’s impact showed up fast. Players improved under his guidance, and his approach helped turn the White Sox into a much stronger offensive team.

The White Sox respected Lau so much that, after he passed away in 1984, nobody wore his number 6 jersey again—except for his protégé Walt Hriniak.

Mentoring George Brett and Ron Kittle

George Brett stands out as Lau’s biggest success. Brett struggled as a rookie, hitting about .200, but Lau turned things around for him.

“Charlie made me a hitter,” Brett said. “My rookie year I was hitting around .200 when he started working with me. All of a sudden, I started to hit.”

Brett’s numbers back it up:

• .305 career batting average
• Over 3,000 hits
• 300 home runs
• Three AL batting titles (1976, 1980, 1990)
• .390 average in 1980 (highest since 1941)

Ron Kittle is another win for Lau’s coaching. Lau helped Kittle build his swing with the White Sox, and Kittle ended up winning the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year award.

Impact on Modern Hitting Instruction

Lau’s influence didn’t stop with individual players. He created a systematic way to teach hitting that spread across baseball. His ideas challenged old-school thinking and brought in fresh concepts.

He focused on contact over power, which helped a lot of struggling hitters find their groove. Coaches still use many of his techniques today.

Lau trained other coaches to keep his methods alive. Walt Hriniak, who played under Lau in the minors, became a respected hitting coach himself. Hriniak later worked as the White Sox hitting coach from 1989 to 1995.

In his hometown, Romulus Senior High School named its baseball field after him—the Charley Lau Baseball Field. That’s a pretty good sign of how much he meant to the sport, even beyond the big leagues.

Personal Life, Legacy, and Memorials

Charles Richard Lau’s life outside baseball revolved around family and his Michigan roots. Sadly, colorectal cancer ended his coaching career at just 50. Still, his hitting techniques and the players he mentored, like George Brett and Reggie Jackson, left a legacy that’s hard to overstate.

Family and Personal Details

Charley Lau was born April 12, 1933, in Romulus, Michigan, near Detroit. He went to Romulus Senior High School and was a standout in several sports.

He started as an outfielder in high school baseball, then switched to catching and hit a whopping .450 over three years. He also played halfback on the football team.

The University of Michigan offered him a football-baseball scholarship, but he chose to sign with the Detroit Tigers after graduating in 1952.

Lau spent a year at Michigan State Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University) before going all-in on baseball. The Korean War interrupted his early career from 1953-1954.

He served at Fort Lewis, Washington, and kept playing baseball while in the military. Lau left the service as a sergeant and went back to pro ball.

Final Years and Passing

Lau joined the Chicago White Sox as hitting instructor in 1982, signing the longest contract ever given to a non-manager coach at that time. The six-year deal showed the team trusted him.

He worked with players like Greg Luzinski, Carlton Fisk, Steve Kemp, Harold Baines, and Ron Kittle. Manager Tony La Russa gave Lau credit for developing Kittle’s swing, which helped Kittle win the 1983 Rookie of the Year award.

Lau got diagnosed with colorectal cancer while coaching for the White Sox. He kept working with players even as he fought the illness.

On March 18, 1984, Charley Lau died at his home in Key Colony Beach, Florida. He was just 50. His death shocked the baseball world and ended one of the most influential coaching runs in the game.

Recognition and Memorials

Lau’s revolutionary hitting techniques changed how coaches teach baseball. He introduced his “Absolutes” of hitting, and now you’ll find those ideas everywhere in professional baseball.

Lou Piniella, who played for the Kansas City Royals when Lau coached, once called him “the greatest batting instructor of them all.” A lot of players have said Lau completely changed their careers.

George Brett, probably Lau’s most well-known student, said, “Charlie made me a hitter. My rookie year I was hitting around .200 when he started working with me. All of a sudden, I started to hit.”

Lau focused on adapting his coaching to each player, instead of sticking to some rigid formula. Now, most coaches try to personalize instruction, just like he did.

People haven’t documented many specific memorials for Lau, but his legacy sticks around. Players and coaches still use his hitting principles in the game today.