Harry William "Hal" Krause (July 12, 1888 – October 23, 1940) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player. He was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

over parts of five seasons (1908–1912) with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

and

Cleveland Naps The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

. He led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 1909 while playing for Philadelphia. For his career, he compiled a 36–26 record, with a 2.50 ERA and 289

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

Biography

Krause was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and attended

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

. He started his professional baseball career in 1907, heading East at the age of 19 in 1908. In the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

he went 17-14, later joining the Athletics."Harry Krause Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-10-30. Krause made an immediate impact in the major leagues. He started out 1909 with a 10-game winning streak, which included six

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. He finished the season 18–8 with a league-leading 1.39 ERA. It is the lowest ERA ever for an American League rookie."Harry Krause Biography"
. ''baseballlibrary.com''. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 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 The 1911 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1911 season. The eighth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League (AL) champion Philadelphia Athletics against the National League (NL) champion ...

, 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 John Wesley Coombs (November 18, 1882 – April 15, 1957), nicknamed "Colby Jack" after his alma mater, was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics (1906–14), Br ...

and

Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' fo ...

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 The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. He went 13–4 with Toledo. The following season, he returned to the west coast and joined the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. In 1913 and 1914, Krause won a total of 39 games with ERAs below 2.30. He had an off year in 1915, however, and played in the Western League in 1916. He went back to the PCL in 1917 with the Oakland Oaks. Krause spent 12 years in Oakland. In his first season there, he set career-highs in wins and innings pitched in the long PCL season, going 28–26 with a 2.35 ERA in 428.2 innings. He continued to pitch well for the Oaks over the next decade, becoming a fixture in the

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

and winning over 20 games two more times. In 1928, he joined the

Mission Reds The Mission Reds were a minor league baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

, where he finished his playing career. Krause won a total of 249 games in the PCL over 16 seasons. He is also a member of the

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. In October 1940, Krause was involved in a car accident. He died eight days later. He was survived by his wife, Marie.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krause, Harry 1888 births 1940 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers American League ERA champions Baseball players from California Philadelphia Athletics players Cleveland Naps players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Mission Reds players Saint Mary's Gaels baseball players Road incident deaths in California

Biography

See also

References

External links