Lew Krausse, Jr.

Lewis Bernard Krausse Jr. His father, Lew Sr., pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1931 until 1932, and became a scout for the organization in 1957, after they had moved to Kansas City.

Career Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1961–1969) High school phenom (1961) Just over a week after signing, at the age of 18, Krausse made his major league debut when he started a game against the expansion Los Angeles Angels in Kansas City's Municipal Stadium on June 16. He pitched a three-hit shutout in his major league debut, defeating Los Angeles 4–0. Krausse was the youngest player in the major leagues that season.

Krausse was less successful in his next starts for Kansas City, partly because he was walking too many batters. In 12 games (eight starts), he had a 2–5 record, a 4.85 earned run average (ERA), 32 strikeouts, 46 walks, and 49 hits allowed in innings. Facing the Elmira Pioneers in his first start on April 25, he struck out 16 batters in a 4–3 victory. However, he was bothered for most of the season by a sore right elbow, which caused the team to shut him down in July, with two months remaining in the minor league season. He had to undergo offseason surgery but was able to return to pitching in 1963. In 31 games (27 starts), he had a 7–19 record, a 3.94 ERA, 135 strikeouts, 74 walks, and 201 hits allowed in 192 innings pitched. Krausse rejoined the Athletics in September and appeared in four more games before the end of the year. In five games (four starts), he had an 0–2 record, 7.36 ERA, nine strikeouts, nine walks, and 22 hits allowed in innings. On September 3, he held the California Angels scoreless for innings in a 1–0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader. In seven games (five starts), he had a 2–4 record, a 5.04 ERA, 22 strikeouts, eight walks, and 29 hits allowed in 25 innings. Encouraged by his performance, Athletics general manager Eddie Lopat remarked, "He has shown a lot more maturity … [and] has a chance to be an outstanding pitcher."

Career high in wins (1966) During 1966 spring training, Athletics manager Alvin Dark encouraged Krausse to throw his changeup when a batter had more balls than strikes, an approach Krausse credited with improving his confidence in the pitch. He began the season as a relief pitcher. "You should've seen them scramble, trying to get Lew Krausse warmed up in a hurry," Drabowsky said. "It was really funny." In 14 games through June 11, Krausse recorded three saves in five opportunities and posted a 3.07 ERA. When Rollie Sheldon was traded to the Boston Red Sox on June 13, Krausse took his spot in the starting rotation. Two days later, in his first start of the year, Krausse held the Chicago White Sox to three runs over seven innings, earning the victory in a 5–4 triumph. Four days after that, he held the Angels to six hits and no runs in a complete game, 1–0 victory. Krausse won five of his first six starts, posting a 2.56 ERA in that span. On September 2, he held the Red Sox to one run (unearned) in a complete game, 5–1 victory. He was pitching a scoreless game against the Senators on September 16 when a transformer fire caused half of the D. C. Stadium lights to go out, suspending the game for two days. Resuming his spot on the mound on Sunday, Krausse left with scoreless innings pitched, earning the win in the 1–0 triumph. In 36 games (22 starts), he had a 14–9 record with a 2.99 ERA, setting a career high in wins despite pitching for a team with one of the poorest offenses in the AL. He had 87 strikeouts, 63 walks, and 144 hits allowed in innings. After a 2–7 start to the season, he was moved to the bullpen following his May 27 outing. He rejoined the rotation on June 6 but was used exclusively out of the bullpen after a July 30 start. During the season, Krausse's mother suffered a fatal heart attack. On July 7, Krausse allegedly fired a .38 caliber pistol from Kansas City's Bellerive Hotel into an empty office in the Phillips Petroleum building, though the police never filed charges because of insufficient evidence.

On August 18, Finley fined Krausse $500 for his behavior on a team flight, suspending him as well. Dark believed, after talking to several of the other players, that Krausse had been playing pranks on Athletics broadcaster Monte Moore, who then falsely reported to Finley that Krausse used "deplorable language" when speaking to a pregnant woman on the flight. When Dark refused to enforce the suspension, Finley summoned him to his Washington, D.C. hotel room during an Athletics road series against the Senators. 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. Finley also released first baseman Ken Harrelson, who had stood up for Krausse, prompting Harrelson to dub Finley "a menace to the sport". 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, as did fellow pitchers Jack Aker and Jim Nash. However, Krausse would remain with the Athletics for two more seasons.

Oakland (1968–1969) Despite his disagreements with Finley, Krausse became the first Athletic to sign his 1968 contract that January. He said his offseason job as a dockworker in Chester influenced his decision. "[It] just made me realize how good a life baseball is. … t gave me a different outlook." Former teammate Bill Stafford taught him a slider, which Krausse started throwing that year. The Athletics had moved to Oakland, California, following the 1967 season, and Krausse started the first game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 17, allowing four runs in innings and taking the loss in a 4–1 defeat to the Orioles. He lost six of his first seven starts and was 2–7 through June 16, but he followed that by winning four straight decisions through July 13. Beginning August 23, he was used mainly as a starter the rest of the season. In 23 games through June, he had a 1–3 record and a 5.59 ERA.

Krausse returned to the rotation in July when Nash was moved to the bullpen to regain his strength after suffering arm trouble. After going 1–1 in his first two starts, he won four consecutive starts, beginning with a shutout of the Angels on July 11. However, Krausse won no more games that season and was moved back to the bullpen in mid-September. On July 7, he pitched the first shutout in Brewers' history, defeating the White Sox 1–0. The shutout was part of six straight wins Krausse recorded from June 25 through July 24, as he improved his record to 10–10. Krausse's ERA was 4.75. On May 1, he allowed five hits and no runs in eight innings, earning his first win of the season in a 1–0 victory over the Yankees. With only a 2–8 record in June, Krausse said, "I'm sick and tired of this. I can't take pitching like this any longer getting no runs." He was moved to the bullpen in mid-June, though he made occasional starts for the Brewers during the rest of the season and returned to the rotation just before September started. On September 11, he pitched seven shutout innings and allowed only three hits, earning the win in a 3–0 triumph over the Angels. In 43 games (22 starts), he had an 8–12 record, a career-best 2.94 ERA, 92 strikeouts, 62 walks, and 164 hits allowed in innings. He was excited about his new team, pointing out that "This is the first time I've been with a contender. It's easily the best shot I've ever had at a pennant." Still trying to earn a starting spot with the Red Sox after the season began, he pitched nine scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers in his first start on April 30, earning the win in Boston's 10-inning, 3–0 triumph. He continued making starts after that but lost his only three decisions, posted a 4.81 ERA through June 2, and was moved to the bullpen thereafter. After August 20, though Krausse remained on the roster and the Red Sox had 42 games remaining in their season, he was not used at all.

Atlanta Braves (1974) On December 17, 1973, the Atlanta Braves signed Krausse. His longest relief outings of the year came in back-to-back -inning outings on July 12 and 20. In the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets on August 23, he started and allowed one hit in six innings, earning the victory in a 6–0 triumph. He played his final game of the season on September 23, allowing two runs in of an inning during a 4–3 loss to the Dodgers. Dark said of Krausse in 1966, "His curve is exceptional. He reminds me a lot of Carl Erskine." Both Dark and Cot Deal, the Athletics' pitching coach, helped Krausse develop his changeup that same year. The couple had two sons, Kurt and Chad, who lived in Kansas City after they grew up. Continuing to serve as a salesman after his career, in 1983, Krausse took on a larger role when he partnered with Fred Paulsen and Bill Drummond to start a metals service center in Kansas City. The business expanded to serve six states by 1997, when Krausse and Drummond sold it to a larger corporation. Following his baseball career, he became an avid golfer. He lived in rural Holt, Missouri, and enjoyed travelling to Las Vegas and Churchill Downs. He died of cancer on February 16, 2021, at the age of 77.