John Francis Kralick ( ) (June 1, 1935 – September 18, 2012) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1959 to 1967. 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 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. 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 A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

and 1,218

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

Early years

Kralick was born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, an industrial town with a strong amateur baseball tradition, and attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. Early in his professional career, he gained recognition as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for a

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

connected to the Northern League. On August 8, 1956, Kralick pitched a 5–0 seven-inning no-hitter for the

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

–

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

White Sox in a match against the Fargo– Moorhead Twins. But the parent

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

released Kralick during the middle of the 1958 minor-league season, and he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the Washington Senators' organization.

Major league debut and no-hitter

Kralick made his Major League debut with the Senators on April 15, 1959. But he appeared in only five MLB games before being sent to the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

for the bulk of the 1959 season. There he compiled a 3.53

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 26 starts and 176

. 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 The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

on September 27. He made the Senator staff for the entire season, posting a winning

mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

(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 Albert Bringhurst Schroll (March 22, 1932 – November 30, 1999) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. Schroll played from 1958 through 1961 for the Boston Red Sox (1958–59), Philadelphia Phillies (1959), Chicago Cubs (1960) and Min ...

. Then, on August 26, 1962, he

no-hit In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine ...

the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

1–0 at

Metropolitan Stadium Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the West North Central states, north central United State ...

, 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 Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New Yo ...

Later career

Kralick was traded by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

to the

for

Jim Perry James Perry may refer to: * James Perry (journalist) (1756–1821), British journalist and newspaper editor * James Franklin Perry (1790–1853), early Texas settler (with wife Emily Austin Perry) * Jimmy Perry (1923–2016), English actor and scr ...

on May 2, 1963. The transaction was made out of necessity for both teams. Kralick, along with

Jim Kaat James Lee Kaat (; born November 7, 1938), nicknamed "Kitty", is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A left-handed pitcher, he played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Minnes ...

and Dick Stigman, had been one of three left-handers on the Twins' four-man

starting rotation This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

, while the Indians' only southpaw starter was

Sam McDowell Samuel Edward Thomas McDowell (born September 21, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a starting pitcher from 1961 to 1975, most notably for the Cleveland Indians. A six-time All-Star, ...

. Kralick was an All-Star in 1964. He played the final game of his major league career on April 23, 1967. His contract was sold by the Indians eight days later on May 1 to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

, who were set to assign him to the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

in preparation for a May 11 promotion to the majors."Kralick Out Month," ''The Blade'' (Toledo, OH), Wednesday, May 3, 1967.
/ref> Instead, he was sidelined for the remainder of the campaign after he sustained a

cerebral contusion Cerebral contusion (), a form of traumatic brain injury, is a bruise of the brain tissue. Like bruises in other tissues, cerebral contusion can be associated with multiple microhemorrhages, small blood vessel leaks into brain tissue. Contusion ...

and temporary

diplopia Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often voluntary. However, when occ ...

when he lost control of his

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

which crashed into a

retaining wall Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides. Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...

on the Memorial Shoreway near

Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and foot ...

in the early hours of May 2.Brackin, Dennis & Reusse, Patrick. ''Minnesota Twins: The Complete Illustrated History''. Minneapolis, MN: Quayside Publishing Group, 2010.
/ref> The Mets offered him an invitation to its

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

camp prior to the 1968 season, but he chose to officially retire as an active player and begin working as an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

man for The North American Life Assurance Company of Toronto. In 1973, he moved to Alaska, eventually settling in

Soldotna Soldotna is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 4,342, up from 4,163 in 2010. It is the seat of the Kenai Peninsula ...

with his family, where he served as a pitching coach for the

Anchorage Glacier Pilots The Anchorage Glacier Pilots are a college summer baseball team in Anchorage, Alaska in the United States. They are part of the Alaska Baseball League, and a member of the National Baseball Congress. The Pilots have won the NBC World Series i ...

. In 1988, he moved to San Blas, Mexico.

References

External links

*
Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kralick, Jack 1935 births 2012 deaths American emigrants to Mexico American League All-Stars American people of Slovak descent Baseball players from Youngstown, Ohio Chattanooga Lookouts players Cleveland Indians players Davenport DavSox players Duluth-Superior White Sox players Madisonville Miners players Major League Baseball pitchers Michigan State Spartans baseball players Minnesota Twins players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen Waterloo White Hawks players American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua