Harry Krause

Harry William "Hal" Krause (July 12, 1888 – October 23, 1940) was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of five seasons (1908–1912) with the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Naps. He led the American League in earned run average in 1909 while playing for Philadelphia. For his career, he compiled a 36–26 record, with a 2.50 ERA and 289 strikeouts.

Biography Krause was born in San Francisco, California, and attended Saint Mary's College of California. He started his professional baseball career in 1907, heading East at the age of 19 in 1908. In the Tri-State League he went 17-14, later joining the Athletics.

Krause made an immediate impact in the major leagues. He started out 1909 with a 10-game winning streak, which included six shutouts. He finished the season 18–8 with a league-leading 1.39 ERA. It is the lowest ERA ever for an American League rookie.

Krause didn't pitch as often or as well in 1910 and 1911. He had arm trouble early in 1910 which forced him to miss some time, but pitched well enough in 1911 that he was considered for use in the 1911 World Series, although he wasn't needed. The 1912 Reach Guide credits him with helping carry the pitching burden for the 1911 team while stars Jack Coombs and Chief Bender were less effective than usual early in the season. In 1912, he came down with a sore arm, pitched badly in six games, and then went to the minor league Toledo Mud Hens. He went 13–4 with Toledo. He died eight days later. He was survived by his wife, Marie.