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Lewis Bernard Krausse
Oakland Athletics
Pitcher
Born: April 25, 1943, Media, PA
Signed: Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent, June 8, 1961
Major League Teams: Kansas City Athletics 1961, 1964-1967; Oakland Athletics 1968-1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970-1971; Boston Red Sox 1972; St. Louis Cardinals 1973; Atlanta Braves 1974
Died: February 16, 2021, Holt, MO (age 77)
Lew Krausse was a high school pitching phenom whose arm troubles and occasional wildness contributed to a delayed start to his 12-year major league career. Krausse made eight starts with the Athletics in 1961, but then pitched most of the next four seasons in the minor leagues while he battled arm injuries and control issues. He came up to stay in 1966. Krausse won a career-high 14 games that season as the seventh place Athletics' most effective starting pitcher. Moved to the bullpen in 1967, Krausse had a severe falling out with Athletics' owner Charlie Finley, who suspended him for insubordination. When manager Alvin Dark (#91) and first baseman Ken Harrelson (#240) came to Krausse's defense, Finley fired Dark and released Harrelson. In 1968, Krausse was the team's starting pitcher for their first ever opening day in Oakland. He'd repeat the feat in 1970 as the first ever starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Krausse last appeared in the majors in 1974 with the Braves. He retired with a 68-91 record over 321 games and an even 4.00 ERA. Krausse struck out 721 batters over 1,283 2/3 innings pitched. His father, Lew Krausse, Sr., pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1931 and 1932, and ultimately became a scout with the club.
Lew Krausse was a high school pitching phenom whose arm troubles and occasional wildness contributed to a delayed start to his 12-year major league career. Krausse made eight starts with the Athletics in 1961, but then pitched most of the next four seasons in the minor leagues while he battled arm injuries and control issues. He came up to stay in 1966. Krausse won a career-high 14 games that season as the seventh place Athletics' most effective starting pitcher. Moved to the bullpen in 1967, Krausse had a severe falling out with Athletics' owner Charlie Finley, who suspended him for insubordination. When manager Alvin Dark (#91) and first baseman Ken Harrelson (#240) came to Krausse's defense, Finley fired Dark and released Harrelson. In 1968, Krausse was the team's starting pitcher for their first ever opening day in Oakland. He'd repeat the feat in 1970 as the first ever starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #85
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Athletics Team Set / Accuracy Index +2
1969 Season
Back with the Athletics for one more season, Krausse was used as a starting pitcher, middle reliever and closer. He appeared in 43 games overall, making 16 starts and going 7-7 with a 4.44 ERA. He threw four complete games, including a pair of shutouts and notched a career-high seven saves. At the plate, Krausse batted .167 (8 for 48) with four home runs and nine RBIs. In January, following the season, he was dealt to the Seattle Pilots with Mike Hershberger (#655), Phil Roof (#334) and Ken Sanders for Ron Clark (#561) and Don Mincher (#285). Krausse would never play for the Pilots as the team moved to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Brewers four days before the start of the 1970 season.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #104
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1963-1973, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-LK
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 48 in the Beckett online database as of 5/7/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #85
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the eighth of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar. If I stick to composing posts five times a week, which may slip through the summer months, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!
The Card / Athletics Team Set / Accuracy Index +2
The photo used here is likely from the same sessions that resulted in the photos used for his 1967 and 1968 Topps cards. With the Athletics moving to Oakland for the 1968 season, photos showing the players with KC on their caps were made obsolete. The back of the card references his father, who as mentioned above, was a long-time scout for the Athletics.
Accuracy Index: I had to think about this one. I granted Krausse five points for wearing an accurate uniform, even though the photo dates from the Athletics' time in Kansas City. He then loses three points for being hatless.
1969 Season
Back with the Athletics for one more season, Krausse was used as a starting pitcher, middle reliever and closer. He appeared in 43 games overall, making 16 starts and going 7-7 with a 4.44 ERA. He threw four complete games, including a pair of shutouts and notched a career-high seven saves. At the plate, Krausse batted .167 (8 for 48) with four home runs and nine RBIs. In January, following the season, he was dealt to the Seattle Pilots with Mike Hershberger (#655), Phil Roof (#334) and Ken Sanders for Ron Clark (#561) and Don Mincher (#285). Krausse would never play for the Pilots as the team moved to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Brewers four days before the start of the 1970 season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #104
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1963-1973, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-LK
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 48 in the Beckett online database as of 5/7/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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