| Mickey Lolich | |
|---|---|
 Lolich with the Detroit Tigers in 1975 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1940-09-12)September 12, 1940 (age 85) Portland, Oregon, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 12, 1963, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 23, 1979, for the San Diego Padres | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 217–191 |
| Earned run average | 3.44 |
| Strikeouts | 2,832 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher.[1] He played inMajor League Baseball from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for theDetroit Tigers.[1] A three-timeAll-Star, Lolich is most notable for his performance in the1968 World Series against theSt. Louis Cardinals when he earned three complete-game victories, including a win over futureHall-of-FamerBob Gibson in the climactic Game 7.[2][3]
At the time of his retirement in 1979, Lolich held the Major League Baseball record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher;[4] as of the 2025 MLB season, he is fifth, having been surpassed byRandy Johnson,Steve Carlton,CC Sabathia (all of whom are in the Hall of Fame), andClayton Kershaw.
Lolich was born inPortland, Oregon ofCroatian descent.[5] He was born right-handed but, began to throw left-handed after a childhood accident. At age two, he rode his tricycle into a parked motorcycle, which fell on him. The accident broke his left collarbone, requiring him to wear a cast for four months. Post-injury efforts to strengthen the left arm helped Lolich develop into throwing left-handed.[6][7] Known as an eccentric, a sports writer in 1964 wrote of Lolich: "He now eats, writes and bats right-handed, pitches left-handed and thinks sideways."[6]
As a teenager, he excelled playing inAmerican Legion Baseball and in theBabe Ruth League, setting Oregon state records for strikeouts.[2] He attendedLincoln High School in Portland and posted a record of 19 wins against 5 losses for the school team in 1958.[2]
Lolich was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateurfree agent at age 17 on June 30, 1958.[8] He began his professional career playing the 1959, 1960, and 1961 seasons with theKnoxville Smokies of theSouth Atlantic League and theDurham Bulls of theCarolina League. In his first three seasons, he compiled a 17–29 record in 82 games.
Lolich was assigned to the Triple-ADenver Bears at the start of the 1962 season and went 0–4 with a 16.50 ERA in nine games. After the poor start, Detroit ordered him back to Knoxville. Lolich refused to report to Knoxville and was placed under indefinite suspension. He returned home to Oregon and struck out all 12 batters he faced in a four-inning outing in semi-pro ball with the Archer Blower team in Portland.[9] In early June, Lolich was acquired by thePortland Beavers of thePacific Coast League in a deal with the Tigers.[10] Lolich turned his career around, compiling a 10–9 record and 3.95 ERA with 138 strikeouts in 23 games with the Beavers. The key to Lolich's turnaround was finding control of his pitches. He had developed a reputation as "a flamethrowing wildman" in the minors but developed his control while playing for Portland.[11]
Buoyed by a strong performance with Portland, Lolich was reclaimed by the Tigers in 1963. He irked Detroit's management by reporting late to spring training, saying he had remained in Portland to take an examination to become a mailman during the off-season.[11] He was cut by the Tigers on April 3 and optioned to theSyracuse Chiefs, then recalled to Detroit on May 9 after compiling a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings at Syracuse. He made his major league debut on May 12 and secured his first win on May 28, allowing one run in nine innings against the Los Angeles Angels. He was plagued by lack of run support during his rookie campaign, losing a 2–1 decision on July 29, allowing only one hit through8+1⁄3 innings before giving up a home run in the ninth inning. He finished the 1963 season with a 5–9 record, 3.55 ERA, and 103 strikeouts in144+1⁄3 innings pitched.[1]
Lolich blossomed in1964 with an 18–9 record and 3.41 ERA in 232 innings pitched.[1] He pitched his first shutout, a three-hitter against theMinnesota Twins, on April 24.[12] On September 9, he pitched his sixth shutout of the season and struck out 12 Yankees. For the season, Lolich ranked fourth in theAmerican League with six shutouts and fifth with 192 strikeouts.[13]
In November 1964, Lolich married Joyce Fleenor, a former airline stewardess from Los Angeles. At spring training in 1965, Lolich told reporter Joe Falls that marriage had a calming influence on him: "She's done so much for me, to settle me down, that I can hardly put it into words. She's made me a very happy guy."[14]
In1965, he compiled a 15–9 record with a 3.44 ERA.[1] His 226 strikeouts ranked second in the American League behindSam McDowell.[15] Always known as a weak hitter, Lolich hit .058 and struck out 37 times in 86 at-bats during the 1965 season.[1]
After two strong seasons, Lolich regressed in 1966. His ERA jumped by more than a run to 4.77, and he compiled a 14–14 record in 40 games.[1] After the season, Lolich rejected claims that his weight was the problem. He noted that he weighed 200 pounds when he won 18 games in 1964 and weighed only two pounds more in 1966. Lolich instead opined: "The big problem for me was loss of concentration. I blew a lot of leads this year."[16]
In1967, the Tigers hired former major league pitcherJohnny Sain as their pitching coach.[17] Sain helped develop Lolich's pitching skills and taught him psychological aspects of pitching.[2][17] The 1967 season was a memorable one for the tight four-way pennant race among the Tigers,Boston Red Sox,Minnesota Twins andChicago White Sox.[18] The Tigers were in contention until the final day of the 1967 season, finishing one game behind the Red Sox.[19] Lolich finished the season with a 14–13 record, but led the league with sixshutouts.[1][20]
In late July 1967, Lolich was called to active duty with theMichigan Air National Guard in response to the ongoingriot. Lolich spent twelve days on active duty and was promoted to Airman First Class.[21][22] Upon returning to the team, he received death threats, allegedly from theBlack Panthers, for his role in quelling the riot. In response, theFederal Bureau of Investigation placed a team of snipers on the roof ofTiger Stadium during his subsequent two starts.[23]
In1968, the Tigers quickly rose to first place, winning nine straight after losing the season opener to Boston.[24] Lolich was overshadowed by teammateDenny McLain's 31-win season, and was sent to thebullpen in August due to a late-season slump.[2] He made six appearances as arelief pitcher before returning to the starting rotation.[2] He posted a 17–9 record with 197 strikeouts, as the Tigers won the American Leaguepennant by 12 games over the second-placeBaltimore Orioles.[1][25]
AfterBob Gibson defeated McLain in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series in St. Louis, Lolich helped Detroit recover by allowing only one run to win Game 2 8–1.[26] He also helped his own cause by hitting the onlyhome run of his 16-year career.[26] But the Tigers lost the next two games at home to fall behind the Cardinals 3–1 and were facing elimination when Lolich returned to pitch in Game 5, just four days after pitching a complete game. Despite an unsettled start, when he surrendered an RBI single toCurt Flood and a two-run home run toOrlando Cepeda in the first inning, Lolich remained calm and proceeded to pitch eight scoreless innings as the Tigers scored two runs in the fourth and took the lead in the seventh onAl Kaline'sbases loaded two-runsingle.[27] They added another run for a 5–3 win, staving off elimination.[26]
Back in St. Louis, the Tigers then won Game 6 by a score of 13–1 behind McLain's solid pitching and agrand slam home run fromJim Northrup in a Series-record-tying ten-run third inning rally to force Game 7.[28] With just two days of rest, and having pitched two complete games in the past week, Lolich faced Gibson in Game 7, both having won their previous two starts.[26] They each pitched six scoreless innings, Lolich picking offLou Brock andCurt Flood to end a Cardinal threat in the bottom of the sixth, before the Tigers broke through with three runs in the top of the seventh starting with a two-out, two-run triple to deep center by Northrup just over Flood's head for an eventual 4–1 Tigers win and a 4–3 Series triumph.[2][29]
Detroit became only the third team inWorld Series history to rally from a 3–1 series deficit to win in seven games.[26] Having completed Game 7, Lolich became the 12th pitcher to win three games in a World Series, and the last with threecomplete games in a single Series.[2][3] He was the last pitcher with three victories in the same World Series untilRandy Johnson won 3 games in the2001 World Series. He is the only left-handed pitcher with three complete-game wins in the same World Series in baseball history.[4] No other pitcher has thrown three complete game World Series victories in the same series since.[4] Lolich's performance earned him theWorld Series Most Valuable Player Award.[30]
In1969, Lolich won 19 games and earned his firstAll-Star selection.[1] He struck out 16 batters in a game twice in 1969, his career high.[2]1971 marked the best season of Lolich's career when, he led the American League in victories (25), games started (45), complete games (29), strikeouts (308) and innings pitched (376), all career-highs.[1] His 308 strikeouts is also a Tigers' team record.[31] At the1971 All-Star Game which featured 21 future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Lolich pitched the final two innings to preserve the first All-Star game victory by an American League team since 1962.[32][33] He finished second toVida Blue in the 1971Cy Young Award voting.[34] Lolich became known for his endurance and his ability to pitch complete games.[2] He reached the 300-innings pitched mark every season between 1971 and 1974.[2]
Lolich won 22 games and posted a career-best 2.50 ERA in1972 to help the Tigers win the American LeagueEastern Division championship.[1] He pitched impressively in the1972 American League Championship Series against theOakland Athletics, posting a 1.42 ERA in two starts. In Game 1, he pitched 10 innings allowing only 1 run before losing the game in the bottom of the 11th inning on an unearned run. He pitched nine innings in Game 4, again allowing only 1 run, but the win went to relieverJohn Hiller as the Tigers rallied in the 10th inning. The Tigers eventually lost the series to Oakland in five games. He finished third in the 1972 Cy Young Award voting behindGaylord Perry andWilbur Wood.[35]
Lolich won 16 games in1973 and1974. However, the Tigers dropped to last place in the American League East. In1975, Lolich eclipsedWarren Spahn’s Major League Baseball record of 2,583 career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.[4] Although Lolich pitched effectively in 1975, the Tigers' poor performance continued as they failed to provide him with much offensive support. He received only 14 runs of support during a 14-game stretch in which his win–loss record was 1–13, even though he managed to post a respectable 3.88 earned run average in that period.[2]
Lolich was traded withBilly Baldwin to theNew York Mets forRusty Staub andBill Laxton on December 12, 1975. As a major leaguer for at least ten years with the last five on the same ballclub, he had initially exercised his right to veto, which he eventually lifted after his attorney and Mets administratorsM. Donald Grant,Joe McDonald andBob Scheffing convinced him that the transaction was financially beneficial and would not negatively affect his family.[36]
Lolich posted an 8–13 record with a respectable 3.22 ERA for the Mets in1976; however, he had disagreements with the Mets pitching coach as well as the Mets trainer and retired after the season.[1][2] He opened adoughnut shop in suburbanDetroit and sat out the1977 season. He returned to baseball in 1978, signing with theSan Diego Padres as a free agent.[1]
He played mostly as a relief pitcher for the Padres in1978, going 2–1 with a 1.56 ERA in 20 games.[1] The following season, Lolich added aknuckleball to his pitching.[2] Lolich had an inconsistent season in1979 and decided to retire. He pitched in his final major league game on September 23, 1979, at the age of 39.[1]
In a 16-year major league career, Lolich played in 586games, accumulating a 217–191win–loss record along with a 3.44earned run average.[1] He struck out 200 or more batters in a season seven times in his career. His 2,832 careerstrikeouts were the most by a left-handed pitcher in Major League history until he was surpassed bySteve Carlton in 1981, and the most in the American League by a left-handed pitcher until being surpassed byCC Sabathia in 2017.[3][4] Lolich threw 41shutouts and 195complete games during his career, completing nearly 40 percent of his starts.[1] He holds Detroit Tigers team records in single-season strikeouts (308), career strikeouts (2,679), shutouts (39), games started (459) and home runs allowed (329).[31]
In 1,017 plate appearances, he had 105 walks and 90 hits. He has the most career plate appearances of anyone with more walks than hits.[37]
In 1979, Lolich invested in a doughnut shop inRochester, Michigan, with the understanding that his partner would run the business. Following disagreements, Lolich bought out his partner and began running the business. After losing his lease, he moved the doughnut business toLake Orion in 1983.[38] In the late 1990s, Lolich sold the doughnut shop and retired.[39][2] He remained active in charity work and served as a coach at the Detroit Tigers' baseball fantasy camp inLakeland, Florida.[2] Because of his humble "everyman" qualities, many long-time Tiger fans celebrate him as one of the most popular sports figures in a working man's city. AsThe Detroit News put it, "He didn't act like a big shot superstar, he was one of us."[40]
Lolich also had a small role inThe Incredible Melting Man,[41] a 1977 horror movie released during his first retirement. He plays a security guard who is killed by the Melting Man near the end of the movie.
In 2003, Lolich was one of 26 players chosen for the final ballot by theNational Baseball Hall of Fame'sVeterans Committee but garnered only 13 votes, far below the 75% required for election.[2] Lolich had previously appeared on theBBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for all 15 years of the allotted time players were eligible to stay on the ballot, topping out at 25.5% of the vote in1988 before falling off of the ballot in1999.
In 1982, Lolich was inducted into theMichigan Sports Hall of Fame. In October 2022, he was inducted in the Croatian-American Sports Hall of Fame.[42]
· Baseball Almanac
