Lobert was born in Wilmington, Delaware. He was the son of a cabinet maker. Lobert was one of 6 children including brothers Frank and Ollie who also became professional baseball players. The family eventually moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania after his baseball career began. He attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.\n', '

Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, invited Lobert to try out for his team in September 1903. He started his professional baseball career at the age of 21 that same month. Like shortstop Honus Wagner, a teammate as well as neighbor of Lobert\'s when he first came to the major leagues, the German-American Lobert earned the nickname "Hans" as a familiar form of Johannes, the German version of his given name, and was dubbed "Hans Number 2" by Honus Wagner. He would keep this name for the next 50 years. Lobert batted .274 for his career and played 14 seasons (1903, 1905–17) with five National League clubs, including regular stints as a third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds (1906–10) and Philadelphia Phillies (1911–14). He also played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1903), Chicago Cubs (1905) and New York Giants (1915–17).\n', '

Fred Clarke, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had Lobert try every infield position except for first base. He had five appearances in the fall of the 1903 season. He had three errors and only hit 1 ball of 13 at-bats. The hit was during a game against the New York Giants with Joe McGinnity as pitcher, and Lobert bunted for a single. In 1904, The Pirates sold him to Des Moines, Iowa which was part of the Western League. He would go on to play 143 games that season. Lobert batted .264 and stole 37 bases. When the team came under new ownership in 1905, Lobert was offered a contract with a significant pay put, he jumped teams with the added advantage of playing closer to home. He would play for Johnson as part of the Tri-State League, where he played 115 games, batted .337, and stole 31 bases. That same season the Chicago Cubs would buy Lobert from Johnson, and he would bat .196 in his 14 games. He was traded once again before the start of the 1906 season; this time to the Cincinnati Reds where he would bat .310 and steal 20 bases in his 79 games. 35 of his games were at third base, 31 were as a shortstop, and 10 were played at second base. He replaced Tommy Corcoran as the everyday shortstop in 1907. In the middle of the 1908 season, Lobert made his career changing move as third baseman.\n', '

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