I was saddened to learn of the passing of former MLB pitcher Mickey Lolich at the age of 85.
Lolich not only spent the bulk of his 16-year big league career with the Detroit Tigers, but I also think one could make the case he was the greatest pitcher to ever wear a Detroit Tigers uniform.
Now the Tigers have had some great pitchers over the year. Tarik Skubal has won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards in a Tigers uniform though I suspect he won't be pitching in Detroit for that much longer.
One can certainly make a case for Hal Newhouser who won back-to-back AL MVPs and came within a heartbeat of winning a third during the mid-1940s. Jack Morris was baseball's winningest pitcher in the 1980s. Of more contemporary vintage is Justin Verlander. Newhouser and Morris have plaques in Cooperstown and Verlander will one day join them.
Alas, Lolich is not a Hall of Famer but yet I think his tenure with the Tigers tops them all. Now there have certainly been more spectacular pitchers to wear a Tigers uniform. Lolich's teammate Denny McLain won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards in 1968 and 1969 including a 31-win season in '68, a feat that will never be replicated again. Then there was Mark "The Bird" Fidrych who had a dream rookie campaign half a century ago. As it happened, Lolich did not get to see The Bird's ascension first-hand as he was pitching in a New York Mets uniform having been traded for Rusty Staub.
Lolich might not have been as flashy as McLain or The Bird, but their time in the sky was short. The Oregon born southpaw pitched for the Tigers from 1963 to 1975 and his numbers in Detroit cannot be ignored. More than 50 years after he last pitched in a Tigers unform, Lolich is the team's all-time leader in games started (508), shutouts (39) and strikeouts (2679).
His 207 wins are third best in Tigers history behind only Hooks Dauss (223) and George Mullin (209). Mullin pitched for the Tigers from 1902-1913 before jumping to the short-lived Federal League following a brief stint with the Washington Senators while Dauss picked up where Mullin left pitching in Detroit his entire MLB career from 1912-1926.
Lolich also ranks third in Tigers history in innings pitched (3361.2) behind Dauss and Mullin who had 3390.2 and 3394 innings pitched, respectively. Between 1971 and 1975, Lolich pitched more than 300 innings. In the '71 campaign, Lolich pitched an astounding 376 innings as he finished runner up in AL Cy Young balloting to Vida Blue. The following year, Lolich's innings pitched output as topped by Chicago White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood who threw 376.2 innings. Sadly, Wood passed away last month at the age of 84.
To put Lolich's innings output into perspective, Skubal has never pitched 200 innings in a season while Verlander only pitched more than 250 innings in a season once. Lolich threw 200 or more innings in 12 consecutive seasons topping 250 innings a half dozen times.
Where Lolich made his reputation was during the 1968 World Series during which he threw three complete game victories including a Game 7 triumph over Bob Gibson who had struck out 17 batters in Game 1 of that Fall Classic. Lolich also hit a HR in Game 2. Needless to say, Lolich won the World Series MVP. Roger Maris, who finished his big-league career with the Cardinals, tried to warn his teammates about Lolich after many a tough battle against him in a Yankees uniform. "Forget about McLain, the guy we have to worry about is Mickey Lolich," said Maris to no avail.
Last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the first pitcher since Lolich to win 3 games in a World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned back-to-back titles winning his own well-deserved World Series MVP. While Yamamoto's accomplishment is magnificent, his third win came in relief. Yamamoto did pitch the first World Series complete game in 10 years, but Lolich tossed three complete games and bested Gibson in Game 7 on only two days rest.
Lolich would earn the first of his three AL All-Star Team selections in 1969 undoubtedly owing to his success in the 1968 World Series. Back-to-back AL All-Star Team selections would follow in 1971 and in 1972. Aside from those 376 innings pitched during the '71 season, Lolich also led the AL in wins (25), complete games (29) and strikeouts (308). But Vida Blue was a phenomenon who made the cover of Time Magazine. In 1972, Lolich would finish third in AL Cy Young balloting behind the aforementioned Wilbur Wood and Gaylord Perry, who would win the first of his two Cy Youngs.
Lolich would continue to be durable but would lose 21 games during the 1974 season. After one more season in Detroit and his one season with the Mets, Lolich retired but came back and pitched out of the bullpen for the San Diego Padres in 1978 and 1979 before retiring for good. In 16 MLB seasons, Lolich made 586 appearances (including 496 career starts) and went 217-191 with a 3.44 ERA striking out 2832 against 1099 walks in 3638.1 innings pitched.
Between 1985 and 1999, Lolich appeared on the BBWAA ballot but never topped 25% of the vote. Had Lolich pitched in 1977 he could have reached 3000 career strikeouts or come very close. The Veterans Committee last considered his candidacy in 2007.
When he retired, no left-handed pitcher had more strikeouts. Today, only four southpaws have more career strikeouts - Randy Johnson (4875), Steve Carlton (4136), C.C. Sabathia (3093) and Clayton Kershaw (3052). Johnson, Carlton and Sabathia have plaques in Cooperstown while Kershaw will get one in 2031.
In some ways, it is probably just as well that Lolich isn't in Cooperstown. Why induct him if he isn't around to enjoy it? I felt quite bittersweet about the Classic Era Baseball Committee's induction of Dick Allen and Dave Parker in December 2024. Allen had already passed and I had a bad feeling Parker wouldn't live long enough to see the ceremony and, indeed, he died less a month before the induction ceremony.
Hall of Fame plaque or not, Mickey Lolich had a wonderful career in baseball and a wonderful life. R.I.P.
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