John Francis Kralick (/ˈkreɪlɪk/KRAY-lik[1]) (June 1, 1935 – September 18, 2012)[2] was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1959 to 1967.[3] He participated in 235 games in the course of an eight-year career that included stints with the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. During that time, he earned 67 wins and 65 losses, accumulating a record of 668 strikeouts, with an ERA of 3.56 in 125 games and 1,218 innings pitched.[3]
But the parent Chicago White Sox released Kralick during the middle of the 1958 minor-league season, and he was signed as a free agent by the Washington Senators' organization.
Major league debut and no-hitter
Kralick made his Major League debut with the Senators on April 15, 1959.[3] But he appeared in only five MLB games before being sent to the Double-AChattanooga Lookouts for the bulk of the 1959 season. There he compiled a 3.53 earned-run average in 26 starts and 176 innings pitched. He got into one further Major League contest when the rosters expanded in September 1959 and pitched two hitless innings in relief against the Boston Red Sox on September 27.[5]
He made the Senator staff for the entire 1960 season, posting a winning mark (8–6) and a (3.04) ERA in 35 games during the club's final year before its transfer to Minneapolis–St. Paul.
On August 20, 1961, he participated in the most recent of the six major league games in which two pitchers hit a home run for the same team, with the other pitcher being Al Schroll. Then, on August 26, 1962, he no-hit[6] the Kansas City Athletics 1–0 at Metropolitan Stadium, the first no-hitter in the history of the Twins franchise subsequent to its relocation to Minnesota. He retired the first 25 batters before a walk to George Alusik spoiled his bid for a perfect game.
Later career
Kralick was traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Perry on May 2, 1963.[7] The transaction was made out of necessity for both teams. Kralick, along with Jim Kaat and Dick Stigman, had been one of three left-handers on the Twins' four-man starting rotation, while the Indians' only southpaw starter was Sam McDowell.[8] Kralick was an All-Star in 1964. He played the final game of his major league career on April 23, 1967.[3]