Karl Drews

Karl August Drews (February 22, 1920 – August 15, 1963) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher whose career spanned 21 seasons (1939–59) and who appeared in the Major Leagues from 1946 to 1949 and 1951 to 1954 for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Redlegs. He was born in Staten Island, New York, and stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and weighed 192 pounds (87 kg).

As a member of the Yankees, Drews appeared in two games of the 1947 World Series as a relief pitcher and held the Brooklyn Dodgers to one run and two hits in three innings pitched, although he did allow a base on balls and a hit batsman and threw a wild pitch. During his MLB career, Drews appeared in 218 games played, 107 as a starting pitcher, and gave up 913 hits and 332 bases on balls in 826 ²⁄₃ innings, with 322 strikeouts. In his finest season, with the 1952 Phillies, Drews finished third in the National League in shutouts (five), sixth in complete games (15), and seventh in earned run average (2.72). He won 14 games (losing 15), appearing in 33 games, 30 as a starter.

Drew was killed at age 43 by a drunk driver in Florida. A grandson, Matt Drews, is a former minor league baseball player, a right-handed pitcher selected by the Yankees in the first round of the June 1993 Major League Baseball Draft who played for seven seasons.