Lew Krausse Jr., who pitched a sparking debut for Kansas City A’s, dies at 77
Lew Krausse Jr., who pitched a complete game shutout in his major league debut for the Kansas City A’s soon after graduating from high school, died on Tuesday. He was 77.
Krausse died of cancer, according to his wife, Susan.
His 12-year major league career spanned five teams — the Athletics in Kansas City and Oakland, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.
Krausse’s best season came in 1966, when he went 14-9 with a 2.99 ERA for Kansas City. But his best moment arguably occurred on June 16, 1961. A week after getting his diploma from Chester High in Pennsylvania, he signed a $125,000 contract with the A’s, a record bonus amount for a free agent at the time.
The scout who signed him? Krausse’s father, Lew Sr., who had pitched for the Philadelphia A’s in the 1930s.
A week later, the 18-year-old took the mound at Municipal Stadium and pitched a three-hit shutout against the expansion California Angels. Krausse finished 2-5 that season, spent the next two years in the minor leagues, and returned to the majors for good in 1964.
Krausse amassed a 68-91 career record and 4.00 ERA. He lived his post-baseball life in the Kansas City area, and although his career ended nearly five decades ago, fans didn’t forget him. Susan Krausse said he received a handful of baseball cards in the mail to sign and return.
“Two, three, five a day,” she said. “And some great letters from people. They’d write and ask for him to sign the card and some would include a dollar or five dollars. Lew always returned the money.”
