developed a reputation for his quick pitching, with baseball games ending half an hour earlier on average on days he pitched. On May 9, his complete game eleven inning victory over the Chicago White Sox improved Gromek's record to 5–0 with a 1.72 ERA, making him the first pitcher in the league with five wins. He also became the first to seven wins in mid-May, but then went on five-game losing streak, not winning game eight until June 15 against the Red Sox. For the season, Gromek had 18 wins, 16 losses, a 2.74 ERA, and 102 strikeouts in 252.2 innings pitched and 36 games, 32 of them starts. He led the Tigers in wins, losses, ERA, and innings pitched, and his ERA and innings pitched were both ranked fifth in the AL. Gromek also led the AL with twelve hit batsmen in 1954. On August 29, he hit Bill Wilson in the fourth inning of a 14–3 win against the Athletics. In the ninth inning, Athletics pitcher Marion Fricano, who had a reputation as a head hunter himself (two days prior, he ended the Chicago White Sox's Cass Michaels' career with a beanball), retaliated and threw at Gromek's back. Gromek charged the mound, causing both dugouts and bullpens to empty. Both players were ejected from the game, and fined by the league. Gromek entered the 1955 season as an everyday starting pitcher, though he was not the opening day starter that year. During the offseason, he worked to lessen the control he had on the ball, as he felt his low ERA but league-leading 26 home runs allowed was the result of overly controlling the ball. He remained a starter throughout the season, with the exception of September, in which Gromek pitched three games in relief, earning two wins in the process. He finished the season with 13 wins and 10 losses and a 3.98 ERA in 28 appearances, and led the league with 26 home runs allowed for the second straight year. He remained a starter with the Tigers to begin the 1956 season, but after struggling early in the season (he had a 1–3 record and a 6.12 ERA in his first four games) he was relegated to the bullpen. He spent most of the season in the bullpen, but due to injuries late in the season, Gromek was placed back in the starting rotation in August,