Karl Drews

Karl August Drews

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4½", Weight 198 lb.
• High School McKee Tech High School
• Debut September 8, 1946
• Final Game September 20, 1954
• Born February 22, 1920 in Staten Island, NY USA
• Died August 15, 1963 in Dania Beach, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Before the 1939 season Karl Drews was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent. Karl spent that season with the class D Butler Yankees; the 19-year-old righthander appeared in 31 games and went 16-5 for a 3.66 ERA.

Karl spent until 1946 in the minors before getting a look at the major leagues, after winning 19 and losing only 9 for the AA Newark Bears with a 2.70 ERA in 1945 and going 14-9 with the AAA Kansas City Blues in 1946. The Yankees had him up for a late-season look, where he got into only three games.

Karl was back with the Yankees and was 6-6 in 30 games for the 1947 World Champions making a couple of relief appearance against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1947 World Series. He went 2-3 for the 1948 Yankees and on August 9th, he was purchased by the St. Louis Browns. He went 7-14 for the Browns during the rest of the 1948 and 1949 seasons and found himself back in the minors in 1950.

Drews won 6 and lost 2 for the 1950 Baltimore Orioles and improved to 17 wins in 1951 for the same club. He found himself back in the majors after being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1951. Acquired by the Phillies late that season, he handed the Dodgers a critical loss in the final week in their battle for first place with the New York Giants. He then had his best season in the major leagues in 1952, with 14 wins, including five shutouts, while posting an excellent 2.72 ERA. Karl finished his major league career with 44 wins and 53 losses with a 4.76 ERA after his last stop with the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1954.

Drews spent the rest of his pro baseball career in the minor leagues, finishing up in 1960 at age 40 with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in the Mexican League. Karl had spent 21 active seasons in pro baseball from 1939 through 1960. Statistics show that he appeared in 423 outings, winning 146 and losing 112, pitching 2,204 innings, giving up 2,100 base hits along with 1,050 base on balls for a career 4.25 ERA.

Karl's son was born on the day he pitched in his first World Series game in 1947, and he put away his Yankee cap from that game for him. In 1993 Ron Drews gave the cap to his son, Karl's grandson Matt, on the day Matt Drews was selected as the New York Yankees' number one selection in the 1993 amateur draft.

After baseball, Karl, who was a director for the Hollywood, FL Recreation Department, was tragically killed on August 15, 1963, at age 43 when he was hit by an intoxicated driver after his car had stalled on a highway in Dania Beach, FL.

Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1952)
• Won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 1947

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page

Related Sites

• Karl Drews at the SABR Bio Project