Lou Skizas

Louis Peter Skizas (born June 2, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois), is a former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball primarily as an outfielder and third baseman from 1956–1959.

Skizas attended Crane High School in Chicago and was signed by the New York Yankees when he was 17. He made his Major League debut with the Yankees in a road game that the Yankees lost 7-3 to the Washington Senators on April 19, 1956.

Pinch-hitting in the fifth inning for pitcher Mickey McDermott, after leadoff hits by Elston Howard and Andy Carey put runners on second and third, Skizas singled to right field for the Yankees' first run of the game.

Skizas would get only six at-bats for New York. He was traded on June 14 of that season with teammate Eddie Robinson to the Kansas City Athletics for two players and cash. For the remainder of that season, Skizas appeared in 83 games for Kansas City and batted .316 with 11 home runs. He was a contact hitter who struck out just 17 times in 297 at-bats that season for the A's.

A 12-man trade between Kansas City and the Detroit Tigers was made on Nov. 20, 1957, in which Skizas went to Detroit along with teammates Billy Martin, Gus Zernial and the man he pinch-hit for in his first MLB at-bat, McDermott. In 1959, his last season in the majors, Skizas appeared in eight games for the Chicago White Sox, but did not play for them in the 1959 World Series.

Fast Facts

• Skizas is of Greek ancestry.
• His nickname was "The Nervous Greek" because of his antics at bat.
• Spent the 1952-53 seasons in military service.
• He hit a career high 18 home runs for the Kansas City Athletics in 1957.
• On November 20, 1957, Skizas was part of a 12-man trade that sent him from Kansas City to Detroit. Involved in that trade was fellow Greek-American John Tsitouris.
• He was signed by Yankees scout Lou Maguolo.^[1]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball Library