The Imperfect Man with the Nearly Perfect Season

Denny McLain was a very imperfect man, so much so that he titled his autobiography “I Told You I Wasn’t Perfect”. His prime in baseball, though, was about as perfect as one season can get.
The year is 1968. Major League Baseball is in its second dead ball era. It is the Year of the Pitcher, a year in which pitchers were so dominant that the mound was lowered by a third of its original height. It is a campaign mostly associated with Bob Gibson, who posted a 1.12 ERA on his way to the Cy Young, MVP, and NL Pennant. The season of 1968 Gibson is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever pitched, and deservedly so. In the American and National Leagues since 1920, Gibson in 1968 has the lowest ERA, and it is not even close. This dominance led to a collection of accolades that has only been matched five times in the history of baseball. Only six times ever has a pitcher won an MVP, Cy Young and Pennant in one year, yet Gibson was matched in those accolades in the same year. In the American League, there was Denny McLain. In that season, McLain became the only pitcher since the 1930s to win 30 games in a year. He not only swept the Cy Young, MVP, and league pennant, but his Tigers beat Gibson and the Cardinals in the World Series. McLain was 24 years old for the ‘68 season, and would repeat as the Cy Young in 1969. He looked like he was on track to dominate baseball for years to come, yet his last pitch in the MLB came at just age 28. A 1970 Sports Illustrated cover would link McLain to the mob, and by the mid-1980s he had filed for bankruptcy twice. Denny McLain was one of the biggest stars in baseball; yet the story of his flameout is just as compelling as the height of his rise.
Terms to know:
-GP: Games Pitched
-IP: Innings pitched
-W/L: Pitching Wins/Losses
-ERA: Earned run average: number of runs given up by the pitcher per 9 innings that were not a result of error or passed ball
-SO/K: Strikeouts
-SV: Saves: Games finished by a relief pitcher, under certain circumstances (close enough game, late enough)
-ERA+: Adjusted ERA stat, park and era adjusted, where 100 is league average
-WHIP: Walks and hits per innings pitched: number of walks and hits allowed on average per inning
-FIP: Fielding independent pitching: similar to ERA, but excludes batted balls in the field of play. Uses strikeouts, walks, and home runs.
-WAR: Wins above replacement: player’s value relative to a replacement-level player at their position. fWAR is Fangraphs’ version of war, and rWAR and bWAR are Baseball-Reference’s

[@djsandvig1]

Old man here….and a native Detroiter. If one lived in Detroit, this was a seminal season and one of healing after the ‘67 riots. Denny was given every chance to redeem himself after his fall,but he could never exorcise his demons. And NOBODY will ever pitch as many complete games.

[@user-dv3do1od2r]

Maybe Cy Young

[@thomasb.smithjr.8401]

At the end, he loses 20 games in a single season. 20 games ! I guess it's like Dizzy Dean once said that it takes a pretty good pitcher to lose 20 in a season. Which is odd, but it's true.

[@user-dv3do1od2r]

@@thomasb.smithjr.8401 Wilbur Wood won & lost over 20 games in the same season. That's pretty hard to do.

[@thomasb.smithjr.8401]

@@user-dv3do1od2r Yes ! It shows they were pitching complete games and likely losing 1-0, 2-1, 3-2. No or little run support ...

[@user-dv3do1od2r]

@@thomasb.smithjr.8401 well I checked the stats on Wilbur....obviously he was a knuckleball pitcher....he started like 49 games & got 44 decisions. 24 & 20 .....that's amazing.

[@luishumbertovega3900]

Saw McLain selling his memorabilia from a table in Main Street when I went to Cooperstown for Induction Weekend in 2019, asked him if he still played the organ, he smiled and answered Yes. ⚾

[@stevea6816]

he was multi talented. shame that morally he got himself into so much trouble. 2 stints in federal prison

[@HanBaby82]

I love Denny McLain. He won his 30th game in 1968 on my 12th birthday. So good.

[@benjaminrealy5661]

After he left prison he worked at a local 711. I worked at a different 711 a mile down the road at the time. I had a constant stream of fans of his coming in asking if he was working today when they announced it on the news. I had to tell them he worked at the 15 Mile Rd and Ryan location. I was at the 14 Mile Rd and Ryan location. I also met him 10 years earlier at an autograph signing with him and Ernie Harwell.

[@georgesouthwick7000]

Gibson not only had a 1.12 ERA, but he did it pitching over 300 innings.

[@mikematteson1688]

He pitched 304.2 innings in 34 starts. If he recorded 4 more outs, that would be an average of exactly 9 innings per start. He pitched more than 9 or 10 inning multiple times

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

BEST BIG GAME PITCHER EVER!

[@unkledoda420]

​@@anthonydileonardo8156agreed 100%

[@Mister8224]

Gotta be a record, losing 9 games with 1.1 ERA

[@Mister8224]

​@@anthonydileonardo815668 WS game 7

[@HanBaby82]

We will never again see a 31 game winner.

[@larrydanadavid2435]

And we’ll never see a worse ambassador of MLB.

[@65if2007]

No, of course not. In an era of five-man rotations, even a healthy starting pitcher will only get 32 or 33 starts a season.

[@CapAnson12345]

@@65if2007 Not only that you're lucky if the starting pitcher even goes past the 6th inning these days. I hate it.

[@lovedavantlamour301]

If they change the rules so that the winning pitcher only needs to pitch 4 innings in a start , we might

[@rockyvines8045]

To beat it all, McLain was more at ease pitching every 4th day, something many, like the late Ferguson Jenkins, knew would work. But baseball, MLB in particular, refuses to do such a thing all around. Ever since Sparky Anderson and the Reds had a long string of incomplete games, while dominating the NL West in 1975, "babying" the pitcher's arms has been the trend. But beware: the late Bob Welch of the Oakland A's won 27 games while allowing 26 home runs and pitching only 2 complete games. It probably COULD happen after all.

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

When I was a kid Denny and Al Kaline were my heroes. The company my Dad worked for had season tickets, four box seats, front row, upper deck, right above first base and Dad, who wasn't that big a baseball fan but knew how much I loved watching Denny pitch, would do his best to get tickets on days he was scheduled to start. I remember when he got suspended in 1970. I was a kid so I took Denny at his word that it was all because a baseball commissioner was trying to make a name for himself. But by the time the team traded him I had lost most of my hero worship for Denny and was glad I had chosen to have #6, not 17, ironed onto my tee-shirt. The thing with Denny is, it's always someone else's fault. The producer of the video glossed over most of Denny's shady associates and law breaking, especially where the meat packing company is concerned. They were a small business but they had a solid pension fund which drew Denny to it in the first place. Right away he started stealing from the pension fund and by the time he was arrested a lot of good people who had paid into the fund for years were left holding an empty bag. But once again, it was the guys Denny surrounded himself with, not Denny, who did all the stealing. As I say, in 1968 Denny was the king of Detroit and he gave us a wonderful season to remember. However, the producer of this video should have mentioned that the night before game one of the Series, Denny was hanging out in the lounge way past curfew, playing the organ and drinking stuff a whole lot stronger than Pepsi. Mickey Lolich saved the Series and Denny was jealous as hell toward him from that point forward. Wanna peek into who the real Denny was? Mickey Lolich was selected for the 1971 All-Star game at Tiger Stadium. Denny, who had been traded that year but still wanted the adulation, offered to drive Mickey to the game. Then he got pissed because nobody was paying attention to him and he got in his head that Earl Weaver, with Billy Martin as the instigator, let Mickey close the game so he could get a big hand from the hometown crowd, a move he believed was designed to embarrass Denny by putting the spotlight on Mickey. So he left. He took off in the ninth without telling Mickey, leaving him hanging. That's just one story but Denny's life is littered with petty selfish tales like that. Like I say, Denny was my hero, but this video glosses over the real Denny, who is a dirt-bag of the highest order.

[@user-jn9gv9ve6e]

he wasn't a hero to me as a kid. my favorite player was norm cash. the rest of what you say is 100 percent right. as a person he is just a bum.

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

@@user-jn9gv9ve6e I loved Stormin Norman. Like I say, our seats were right above first base so every game I'd look down and Norm would be there. That game where he came out with the table leg against Nolan Ryan is one of the classic moments in all of baseball lore. That was the club that made me fall in love with baseball.

[@fredbobberts5753]

1965: 16-6 1966: 20-14 1967: 17-16 1968: 31-6 1969: 24-9 McLain won 20 in July, which is the trick you have to take to win 30. The last prior man to win 20 in July was Lefty Grove, in 1931, the year he also won 31.

[@barbaradarnell7376]

Dizzy Dean won 30 in 1934 for Saint Louis.

[@fredbobberts5753]

@@barbaradarnell7376 I’m well aware Dizzy Dean was the last prior man to win 30, he was in Detroit to interview McLain after he won his 30th. But you mid read my statement- I said Lefty Grove was the last prior man to win twenty in July, and that is true, Dizzy was only 18-4 at the end of July, 1934. The Cards used him as a receiver, too, he had 38 starts and 12 relief appearances, with as I count it 3 wins, 3 losses, a hold and 7 blown saves (which count in his wins and losses). This is an unconventional way to get to 30 wins but the Cards actually used him in relief as early as June. Dean won 5 in August and 7 in September, including two straight shutouts at the end of the season.

[@StingleyEnjoyer]

Idk why your videos dont more views, These are amazing.

[@thomasb.smithjr.8401]

Two great 'what ifs' in Tiger pitching history : Denny McClain and Mark Fidrych. But how sweet while it lasted ! ⚾️

[@user-jn9gv9ve6e]

they both hurt their arms.

[@thomasb.smithjr.8401]

I remember an observation Bill Freehan made some years ago : 'Denny loved his music career (the organ) and the night life more than he loved me. As a catcher, I was just an appendage.' I don't think they talked much in the years after, either ... 🤔

[@thomasb.smithjr.8401]

FYI - read McClain's Wikipedia page for a brief bio - baseball and the lock-up, to boot. This cat could've won 300+ games easily and been in Cooperstown, with a few more World Series rings, too. 😮

[@butterw55]

McLain's high leg kick on the mound was just beautiful to watch. It's like Ken Griffey's swing.

[@kcbill54]

His 31 win season in 68 is almost completely ignored even though nobody has come close in the past 56 years.

[@markamytraver5762]

I went to two Tigers games in 68 and McLain pitched both and they lost both!

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, come to think of it, I went to a couple Tiger games in 1968. can't tell ya who won, but we sure had fun!

[@Willieb-hi6yt]

McLain has been a loser his entire life

[@richdouglas2311]

Two notes: First, Luis Tiant led the AL in ERA in '68. Also, as the video notes, McLain was the Cy Young Award winner in '69, too.

[@winstonbeech3418]

Met Denny - a fellow Hammond player and Pepsi drinker - earlier this year. I remember 1968 very well although I was a Reds fan. In a rare act of rooting for an AL team I wanted the Tigers to beast the Cardinals.

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, I talked with Mark Fidrych once. it was fun talking to him about baseball!

[@hockeytown8995]

I was in the upper deck of the center field bleachers for number 30. He was almost beaten by 2 homeruns by a young Oakland Athletics outfielder named Reggie Jackson. Fortunately the Tigers came back in the 9th, as they did all year to win it for Denny.

[@user-dv3do1od2r]

McClain groved a fastball to Mantle ( his childhood idol) to Homer & pass some other dude on the all time home run list...Jimmy Foxx I believe

[@mattmullins7369]

That other dude lol was a 2 time MVP and Triple Crown winner😂😂😂. But you are correct. Double XX was the man Mantle passed off that homer.

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, according to Bouton's book (Jim Bouton was there at the time, in the Yankee dugout) McClain told his catcher Bill Freehan to tell Mickey, he was going to throw a fastball right down the middle. Mickey didn't swing at it. Freehan said the next one was going down the middle too, and Mickey knocked it for a Home Run.

[@user-dv3do1od2r]

@@mattmullins7369 I was being a bit Facetious....but yeah

[@user-dv3do1od2r]

I probably forgot more about baseball statistics than you will ever know Swanson

[@ericheisler5351]

Why hasn’t a ballpark engineered a ballpark where the pitchers mound could be stealthy elevated or lowered innings? Even women know 1-2 inches makes a huge difference.

[@jimdahlin7333]

I was a 7-year-old boy living in Marquette that summer. My first year of collecting baseball cards. Jim Northrup was always my favorite Tiger, followed by Bill Freehan. I so remember driving around Lake Superior with my family on those hot summer nights, listening to Ernie Harwell broadcasting. Sundays meant double-headers and picnics at the lake. Denny winning 30 games, and the Tigers winning the pennant, are some of the most indelible moments of my life. In those days, a kid had 8-10 years of rooting for the same players, and it just seems the game was so much better then. The Vietnam War, riots, and other world problems were on the periphery of everything, but the '68 baseball season was magic to a young boy back then.

[@Rick-jf6sg]

I was 14 that summer. Admired both Gibson and McLain immensely. Pitched Pony League baseball, wore No. 17 like McLain, had a fast windup and delivery like Gibson. Two stud duck pitchers at the height of their powers. A good read is a book titled 1968: The Year of the Pitcher. Lots of details on the seasons those two guys had. McLain was getting cortisone shots in his arm all year. Threw his arm out, really. Sad.

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

McClain grew up on the streets of Chicago with no father in the house, which explains a lot.

[@unkledoda420]

That is the laziest excuse for someone's sh*t behavior/personality. I know lots of people who grew up in households with both parents but they still turned into garbage human beings. And i know plenty of people who grew up with one parent and they turned out to be good people who've never committed a crime in their lives.

[@antonioreconquistador]

​@@unkledoda420 its not an excuse but its a contributing factor for a lot of mistakes- especially getting caught up in the wrong crowd with the wrong habits.

[@thomasb.smithjr.8401]

Yes, it's not too far away from where Isaiah Thomas grew up. Fight your way out of the streets ... ⚾️ 🏀 😮

[@syourke3]

That’s not true.

[@shawnkennedy855]

@@unkledoda420 It's statistically true.

[@DetroitStars]

We used to have a late night TV bowling show in Detroit called "Beat the Champ." It featured a local pro or all-star as the champ, bowling against an amateur. Although McLain's bowling skill level wasn't up to that of the all-stars, he was featured as the champ one time. I don't remember if he won the match, but do remember him converting a baby split. Also, if I remember correctly, he was throwing an AMF 3-dot with what looked like a Sarge Easter grip.

[@dr.migilitoloveless2385]

1968 was the last year baseball was any good.

[@danhageman5443]

I was a Mickey Lolich fan. What a work horse.

[@user-jn9gv9ve6e]

if jack morris is in the hof then mickey lolich should be. when he retired he was in the top ten pitchers in baseball for strike outs.

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, I still am a Mickey Lolich fan! HE BELONGS IN THE HALL OF FAME. when he left the mlb, he was the leading left-handed strikeout leader! NO OTHER LEFTY HAD MORE STRIKEOUTS!!! and he played on those stinky stinky Detroit teams.

[@shackdaddy7106]

A couple of corrections. The pitching mound was only 15 inches from 1962 until 1968. It was lowered back to 10 inches which it had always been before 1962 in 1969. Also in the 1968 World Series Mickey Lolich was the dominant pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, not Denny McLain.

[@jeffw1267]

661 innings pitched in just two seasons. That is INSANE by today's standards. There's no way he was ever 100% after that.

[@JohnGaltGurgi]

Sounds like a fun guy at a party.

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, I wonder what McClain's kids thought of him divorcing their mother!!?! that's the kinda guy Denny McClain is

[@joex7305]

Nice job really good graphics McClain was a flawed character to say the least he was in much deeper with the Partnership than anyone will ever know

[@williamford9564]

5:46: The others here are Gaylord Perry, Steve Carlton and on the right, Grover Cleveland Alexander. There are parallels with McLain from Alexander. He had drinking and spendthrift financial habits throughout his career and afterwards. He was basically homeless and destitute for many years before his death.

[@Frank-pi2gz]

LIke the song goes, THERE'S NEVER BEEN ANY, LIKE DENNY McLAIN. Sock it to em Tigers! 😊

[@eustacecourage7478]

'68 year of the pitcher? My argument for year of pitcher is '69. '68 had a total of seven 20 game winners in MLB. '69 had a total of thirteen 20 game winners. And this is after the pitcher's mound was lowered,so yeah.

[@garryharris3777]

Expansion

[@verlongates2279]

Detroit averaged a full three runs per game when McClain pitched in 1968. Some of this is all luck. Some of it is an incredible building confidence in both pitcher AND team as the season wore on. Some of it was that an incredible 'expectation to win when McClain pitched' created even more confidence. Baseball is a funny, and VERY MENTAL game. Still an AMAZING season. Gibson's season, and Mickey Lolich's World Series being in the same season made for an incredible year for baseball fans.

[@fredbobberts5753]

McLain received a little over five runs per game run support. The league average ERA was just around 3.00 in both leagues and teams averaged around 3.2 runs. But even with run support you have to hang around long enough to clinch the wins, and he pitched 28 complete games in 1968. To do that you have to be able to convince your manager you are the best option for the third and fourth opponent times through the order late in the game when you could be pinch hit for.

[@MrCubFan415]

How do you make your what-if videos? (For example, what program do you use for the simulations?) I was thinking of perhaps trying my hand at making some what-if videos myself. I also have some suggestions for MLB what-if scenarios if you’re interested :)

[@TimSpangler-rd6vs]

Drank a CASE of soda every day and weighed over 300 lbs.Dysfunction, thy name is Denny McClain

[@peteshallcross787]

Loved watching Gibson, but at the age of 11 and a White Sox fan I wanted McLain and Lolich, who went 3 and 0 to win the WS. The story of the last 30 game winner is one of the most perplexing of all time. MLB today is a joke and every team has at least couple of Denny McLain type egotistical jerks.

[@user-jn9gv9ve6e]

lolich was the hero for detroit in that series. he also hit a home run.

[@samuelmoulds1016]

​@@user-jn9gv9ve6eyeah, and if I'm not mistaken, the only Homer he ever hit in the mlb.

[@RichMansour]

What was the mounds height in 1967 when there was lots of hitting?

[@user-jn9gv9ve6e]

the mound height was 15 inches and there was not a lot of hitting. it was lowered to 10 inches.

[@barbaradarnell7376]

Dizzy Dean won 30 for the St, Louis Cardinals in 1934.

[@40intrepid]

I wonder if the Tigers had kept him one more year, he might have had a comeback season under Billy Martin.

[@jeffw1267]

McLain pitched 660 innings in just two seasons. Billy wasn't exactly known for protecting his pitchers, so no way would McLain have been effective.

[@jameshudson169]

27 wins is pretty close to the 30 mark.

[@millardhale85]

What could have been?

[@charlesclinton3305]

The meat packing plant debacle that landed him in prison the second time was especially shady because it was revealed that he stole the workers retirement pension. That turned a lot of people against him as a result, a lot of people still haven't forgiven him for that.

[@neneshubby]

He can’t blame CTE either

[@lovedavantlamour301]

He wore #30 because he had a contract with Pepsi-Cola to provide him with exactly that many bottles of pop for his personal consumption per day , and the sad thing is im 100% not joking about this

[@CapAnson12345]

Luis Tiant, Bob Gibson, and maybe Dave McNally had better years in 1968. But 31 wins is hard to argue with. After winning the Cy Young again in 1969 Denny McLain was 25 years old with 114 wins, 26 shutouts, and 3 20 win seasons. What are the odds a guy at that point wouldn't go on to make the hall of fame? Actually Dwight Gooden was even better with a 119-46 record with 1391 strikeouts and a 2.82 ERA through age 25. Gooden at least has a longshot case for the hall of fame anyway.

[@Mister8224]

So, those 3 pitchers had better years in 68 than McLain? That is a LAME comment. You have a flawed way to evaluate pitchers.

[@Mister8224]

You seem to blame McLain for his collapse after 69. His shoulder was bad & Tigers only made it worse. They did same with Fidrych.

[@7425park]

Actually, it was close on Gibsons era. I believe Luis Tiant only gave up 8 or so more runs all year, and his era was. 1.60. Also Juan Marichal huge year.

[@jamesschmidt9217]

The Tigers cheated in 1968! On defense, they played 9 players in the field and, on offense, were allowed to bat until they had three outs in each inning! I’m totally disgusted that Lolich was even allowed to pitch in the 7th game! …and then they put the sun in the right place to make sure Curt Flood misjudged Stanley’s triple! …and Lou Brock didn’t slide at home? Come on man! I’m seriously thinking about filing a legitimate appeal to the Supreme Court (is that a basketball term)! Cheaters!!!😅

[@davekearney1944]

These guys would get called for 250 balks per game by today's rules.

[@zachr26]

There are a lot of things that come across really different in old games than today, and that’s a big one. Pretty much nobody came to a stop really at all at that point in history

[@mudhens-r6k]

Denny is an athlete, not a diplomat. I sell sports cards outside Detroit. Denny's cards sell better than most and many people have good memories to tell of him.

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, I think Denny said it best when he said, "Yeah, when you are a hero in Detroit, they don't care what you have done."

[@speedracer6294]

sociopath

[@user-jn9gv9ve6e]

he was a good pitcher until he hurt his arm. a lot of pitchers back then pitched too many innings per season. as a person he is a bum.