Andy Karl

Anton Andrew Karl

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1½", Weight 175 lb.
• School Manhattan College
• High School Mount Vernon (NY) High School
• Debut April 24, 1943
• Final Game August 20, 1947
• Born April 8, 1914 in Mount Vernon, NY USA
• Died April 8, 1989 in La Jolla, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Right-hander Andy Karl signed with the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1937 season. He spent the first six years (1937-1942) of his professional baseball career with the Red Sox organization in the minor leagues. During this period, Andy put together a 51-63 record, appearing in 213 games and pitching 973 innings. His best numbers came early, when he put together a 11-10 year and a 4.34 ERA in 1938 in a split season with the class C Canton Terriers and the class B Rocky Mount Red Sox. Karl never returned to the minor leagues after coming up to the big leagues.

Karl made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox on April 24, 1943. He had a 1-1 record and a 5.30 ERA while appearing in 11 games before being dealt to the Philadelphia Blue Jays in mid-season, where he finished up the year at 1-2 and a 7.09 ERA in 9 outings for the Blue Jays. Andy was with the Blue Jays for the entire 1944 season and had his only plus-.500 season of his major league run, at 3-2 and a 2.33 ERA, while appearing in 38 games.

The 1945 Philadelphia team reverted back to their former Philadelphia Phillies name and Andy was with them and Karl experienced his best big league year, chalking up an 8-8 record and a 2.99 ERA while leading the league with 67 appearances and 15 saves. He also set a new major league record by pitching 167 innings in relief - a record that stood until 1973.

The 1946 year saw Andy with the Phillies for the season, but he fell to a 3-7 record and a 4.96 ERA. On May 27, 1947 the Phillies traded Andy to the Boston Braves for Don Padgett. Andy was with the Braves for the 1947 year and went 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 27 games, giving him a 18-23 big league career record with a 3.51 ERA in 107 games. This marked the end of Karl's run in professional baseball.

After baseball. Andy owned and operated a heating and plumbing firm in Fairfield, CT for 25 years. Anton Andrew Karl died from kidney failure five weeks after a surgery on April 8, 1989 in La Jolla, CA.

Related Sites

• Andy Karl at the SABR Bio Project