All-Time Indians: Steve Gromek

Steve Gromek was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent out of St. Ladislaus High School in Michigan in 1939 and ultimately became one of just ten pitchers in Indians history to win a World Series game. By sticking around for a very long time, Gromek would eventually end up in the top 20 in innings pitched in Indians history, but it all started in 1941, when he was a 21 year old rookie.

The durable right hander started out as a relief pitcher and didn’t pitch much early on, getting into just 26 games in his first three seasons. Of course, some big things were happening around the world at the same time and with more important things happening the Indians found their rotation depleted. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Bob Feller joined the Navy in 1941, costing the Indians their ace who had lead the league in wins and innings pitched in each of the three previous seasons. In 1943, Al Milnar was sold to St. Louis before joining Feller in the war effort. Somehow, Gromek avoided the draft despite being in his early 20’s and became the perfect fill in for the rotation in 1944. That year, he started in the bullpen again, but joined the rotation in July and quickly proved his worth, posting a 2.90 ERA with 12 wins over 155.1 innings through the end of the year.

After this tremendous start, the Indians would have crazy to waste him in the bullpen the following year, even with Feller coming back from the war. Cleveland did keep him around and he started more games than any other pitcher with the team. He posted the best season of his career that year as the top pitcher on the staff. He finished the year with a 19-9 record and a 2.55 ERA and was a lock for the All-Star game that year, but it was canceled due to war restrictions. Unfortunately, this would not only be his best season as a starting pitcher, but his final season as an even average starting pitcher.

In 1946, Feller had returned for a full season and pitched nothing less than the greatest season in Indians history, setting records for strike outs and innings pitched while winning 26 games. This pushed the light off Gromek, who went 5-15 with a 4.35 ERA in 21 starts. In addition to Feller, Red Embree, Mel Harder and Allie Reynolds all had great seasons, leading to a return to the bullpen in 1947. From then on, Gromek was used sparingly as a starter over the next seven seasons for the Indians, being primarily a relief pitcher. In this, he was one of the Indians first great relievers, a label usually designated to lesser pitchers during the period. Even now, after decades of specialized relievers, Gromek remains one of the top ten right handed relievers in Indians history and of those, the one with the earliest tenure.

In 1948, the Indians possibly had the combination of the three best starters in team history with Feller, Gene Bearden and Bob Lemon. Gromek was used mostly as a reliever again, but once again, Feller’s absence gave him a golden opportunity. Those three starters along with AL MVP Lou Boudreau and Larry Doby leading the offense won the AL pennant, bringing Cleveland to the World Series for the second time in franchise history. Once there, the Indians were depending on Feller to lead the way, but he lost game one, then after wins from Bearden and Lemon, was unable to pitch game four. With the ace out, Gromek stepped into the gap and pitched the most important game of his career. Matching up against the Braves All-Star starter, Johnny Sain, Gromek through a complete game, giving up just a single run and winning the game 2-1. The difference between going into game five with a 3-1 series lead ultimately made all the difference over continuing on tied. Feller lost game five, but because of Gromek’s win, the Indians were able to come back in game six behind Lemon and win the series 4-2.

After his time in the spotlight, Gromek pitched another five seasons with the Tribe of varying results. From 1950 through 1952, he pitched at least 100 innings each year with an ERA below 3.70. His 1951 campaign turned out to be his best since 1945 as he started just eight games, but held his ERA to just 2.77. In 1953, the 33 year old Gromek looked poised for another great season with a 3.27 ERA through his first five appearances, but he was moved to Detroit, being traded along with Ray Boone, Al Aber and Dick Weik for Art Houtteman, Bill Wight, Owen Friend and Joe Ginsberg. Of these, only Houtteman would go on to have a significant career for the Indians while Gromek was converted back to starter and found another two great seasons left in his arm. Due to the trade, he was unable to join Bob Lemon as the only pitcher to throw in both the 1948 and 1954 World Series. Gromek would pitch just four full seasons for the Tigers before retiring after the 1957 season. He died in Michigan in 2002.