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Perhaps no player in baseball has had such outstanding on-the-field performance negated by off-the-field antics as has been the case of a pitcher named Denny McLain.
In the last half of the 1960s, no American League pitcher was more dominant, or more flamboyant, than the hard-throwing Mr. McLain. He was the first major league pitcher in 34 years to win 30 or more games in a single season. And he will probably be the last for years to come. Maybe forever.
Since 1968, no major league pitcher has replaced McLain as the last of the 30-game winners. With 100-pitch limits, 4 days of rest between starts, and inning-by-inning relief specialists, it’s highly unlikely that a contemporary 30-game winner will – or can – emerge.
Yet are McLain’s accomplishments on the field celebrated today at any level of professional baseball? Hardly. His legal problems, both during his playing career and afterward, have almost completely wiped out Major League Baseball’s willingness to recognize what he accomplished on the pitching mound.
McLain was signed by the Chicago White Sox. After being traded to the Detroit Tigers, he debuted in the major leagues in 1963. His breakout season was 1965, when McLain went 16-6 with a 2.61 ERA. In a relief appearance against the Red Sox on June15, 1965, McLain struck out 14 batters in 6.2 innings, including the first seven he faced.
McLain won 20 games in 1966 and 17 in 1967.In both of those years, he led the American League in home runs allowed, a feat he repeated in 1968.
His 31 home runs given up in 1968 didn’t keep him from winning 31 games, the first 30-victory campaign since Dizzy Dean in 1934. McLain’s 31-6 record was achieved on a 1.96 ERA. He led the league in winning percentage (.838), games started (41), complete games (28), and innings pitched (336). He also struck out a career-high 280 batters. In the year of outstanding pitchers in both leagues, McLain collected both the Cy Young award and the Most Valuable Player award for the American League.
He followed up in 1969 with another outstanding season: 24-9 with a 2.84 ERA, again leading the league with 41 starts and 325 innings pitched. At age 25, he had already recorded 114 victories as the decade closed.
He would win only 17 more games, as arm and legal problems brought such a promising career to such an abrupt end. But during the 1960s, only Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson could match the dominating 5-year performance of the hard-throwing Mr. McLain.
Looking for Denny McLain's stats? In Hardball Bob's opinion, the best source for online statistics is Baseball-Reference.com. For Denny's career stats, go here.
Denny McLain is one of the 1960s baseball stars featured in 60 From The ‘60s: 60 Players Who Made the 1960s Baseball’s Real Golden Age. It’s a great introduction to baseball the way the game was meant to be played … without free agents, designated hitters or advanced chemistry. Check it out at http://www.60fromthe60s.com
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