...
By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Mickey Lolich, a three-time American League All-Star and the Most Valuable Player of the 1968 World Series, has died. He was 85.
Read More on MLB
Lolich played 13 of his 16 major league seasons (1963-75) with the Detroit Tigers, before finishing his career with the New York Mets (1976) and San Diego Padres (1978-79).
More news: Third-Oldest MLB Player, Negro Leagues Veteran, Dies at 99
A left-handed pitcher, Lolich retired with a 217-191 record and 3.44 ERA in his MLB career.
...
Lolich was the runner up for the American League Cy Young Award in 1971, a season in which he started 45 games, completed 29, and went 25-14 with a league-leading 376 innings pitched. Coincidentally, the man who finished third in AL Cy Young voting that year, Wilbur Wood, died Jan. 18.
Lolich holds the Tigers' career records for games started (459), shutouts (39), and strikeouts (2,679). His 308 strikeouts in 1971 remain the franchise's single-season record.
More news: 5-Year MLB Veteran, World Series-Winning Coach, Dies
In the 1968 World Series, Lolich authored complete-game victories in Games 2, 5, and 7 — the latter on two days' rest — as the Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals. That performance earned Lolich the series' MVP award, a rarity for a pitcher.
In 2018, Lolich authored a memoir ("Joy in Tigertown) with sports writer Tom Gage.
"I sit around with people all the time, and tell baseball stories about the Tigers and my life and that type of stuff," Lolich told WDET. "And people are always saying ‘you should write a book.’ I sort of always put it off. And then I came to realize one day that I had three daughters. And those daughters were quite young during my baseball career and really didn’t know too much about the game or what I did in my lifetime. Then I have grandsons that don’t really know anything about what I did."
More news: Dodgers World Series Champion Pens Emotional Message to Coach Who Died
A native of Portland, Oregon, Lolich retired briefly as a struggling 21-year-old at Triple-A in 1962. He returned home to Portland, learned to throw a sinker, and by 1963 was in the majors for good.
Lolich was celebrated by Tigers fans at Detroit's Comerica Park in 2018, when the 1968 team held a 50th anniversary reunion.
"The Tigers are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mickey Lolich and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones," the team said in a statement Wednesday.
Lolich is survived by Joyce, his wife of 61 years; daughters Kimberly, Stacy, and Jody; and three grandsons.
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines