Lou Grasmick

Who is Lou Grasmick?

Louis Junior Grasmick is a retired American professional baseball player, a pitcher who worked in two games and five innings pitched in relief for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1948 season. Grasmick batted and threw right-handed; he stood 6 feet tall and weighed 195 pounds. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

Grasmick made his minor league debut in 1943. He moved through various team farm systems throughout the war years, and joined the Terre Haute Phillies in 1947, winning 12 games for them.

Grasmick was treated roughly in his MLB debut on April 22, 1948, against the eventual National League champion Boston Braves, allowing three earned runs, three bases on balls and two hits in only one inning of work. Two days later, he allowed only one run in four innings against the Brooklyn Dodgers, but did allow two inherited runners to score in an 11–4 Phillie defeat. He then returned to minor league baseball for the rest of his career.

After playing baseball, Grasmick operated a lumber business. When once asked about knockdown pitches he stated: "If you didn't thrown a knockdown, you were going to have problems with your teammates. You were expected to protect them. If the other pitcher threw at one for your players, then you had to square the account. It was the way the game was played. A different era now. And players then didn't have protective helmets."