Lew Krausse Jr.

Krausse was a schoolboy star from Little League through attending Chester High School (Chester, Pennsylvania), and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 1961. He signed a $125,000 bonus contract with the Athletics.[1] A week after signing, he pitched a three-hit shutout against the expansion Los Angeles Angels in his major league debut.[2] Krausse was the youngest player in the major leagues that season.

Krausse pitched in a total of 321 games in his career, 167 as a starting pitcher. His career win/loss record was 68–91; he pitched 1284 total innings, with 1205 hits allowed, 721 strikeouts and 493 walks allowed. His earned run average was 4.00. His best overall season was in 1966 with Kansas City, when his record was 14–9 with a 2.99 ERA. That season his victory total was sixth best in the American League, and his 2.99 ERA was ninth best.

On August 18, 1967, Athletics owner Charles O. Finley fined Krausse $500 for his behavior on a team flight, suspending him as well.[3] Manager Alvin Dark believed, after talking to several of the other players, that Krausse had been playing little pranks on Athletics broadcaster Monte Moore, who then falsely reported to Finley that Krausse used "deplorable language" when talking to a pregnant woman on the flight. Because Dark refused to carry out the suspension, Finley asked to see Dark at his hotel room in Washington, D.C., where the Athletics had gone for a road trip against the Washington Senators.[4] In a seven-hour meeting, Finley fired his manager, decided to rehire him, then fired him again when he was presented with a player's statement backing Dark and criticizing Finley's use of spies to keep tabs on the players. Additionally, Finley released first baseman Ken Harrelson, who had also stood up for Krausse. Harrelson dubbed Finley "a menace to the sport."[5][4] Players' Association director Marvin Miller lodged a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, but the complaint was withdrawn when the Athletics agreed to cancel Krausse's suspension. Still forced to pay the fine, Krausse demanded a trade, along with fellow pitchers Jack Aker and Jim Nash. However, Krausse remained with the Athletics for two more seasons.[6]

Krausse was briefly a member of the Seattle Pilots, having been traded to them in January 1970, and wore their uniform in spring training, but the franchise moved to Milwaukee prior to the start of the regular season. On July 7, 1970, he pitched the first shutout in Brewers' history, defeating the Chicago White Sox 1–0.[7]

Krausse was part of a ten-player blockbuster that sent him, Tommy Harper, Marty Pattin and minor-league outfielder Pat Skrable from the Brewers to the Red Sox for George Scott, Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe Lahoud and Don Pavletich on October 10, 1971.[8] He was released by the Cardinals on October 26, 1973.[9]

Krausse's father, Lew Sr., pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1931–32.[10]

Along with his father, who was inducted in 1963, Krausse is a member of the Delaware County Sports Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1981.[11]

• List of second-generation Major League Baseball players

• Dark, Alvin; Underwood, John (1980). When in Doubt, Fire the Manager: My Life and Times in Baseball. New York: E. P. Dutton. ISBN 0-525-23264-8.

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors) or Retrosheet or SABR BioProject or Venezuelan Professional Baseball League