MVP & Cy Young Profile: Denny McLain, 1968

Pitcher, Detroit Tigers

Age:  24

5^th season with Tigers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 185

Prior to 1968:

A Chicago native, McLain grew up in the suburb of Markham, where he played youth baseball. He received a baseball scholarship to attend Chicago’s Mount Carmel High School where he pitched his way to a 38-7 record. Upon graduation in 1962 he was signed by the Chicago White Sox for a $10,000 bonus. Initially assigned to the Harlan Smokies of the Class D Appalachian League he threw a no-hitter in his first professional start while striking out 16 batters. In two games with Harlan he went 1-1 with 32 strikeouts over 18 innings. Promoted to Clinton of the Midwest League McLain was 4-7 with a 3.56 ERA and 93 strikeouts over 91 innings. During his first minor league season he also began to exhibit the carefree and reckless behavior that would become more pronounced over time. Drafted away from the White Sox by Detroit in the offseason, he pitched with teams at the Class A and AA level in 1963 and was 18-6 with a 2.89 ERA and 239 strikeouts. Called up to the Tigers in September, McLain pitched a complete game for a win in his debut against the White Sox on his way to a 2-1 record in his first taste of major league action with a 4.29 ERA. He started the 1964 season with the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League and, after getting off to a 3-1 start, he was promoted to the Tigers in June, joining the starting rotation and going 4-5 with a 4.05 ERA the rest of the way. After a good performance playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, McLain followed up in 1965 with a 16-6 mark and a 2.61 ERA with 192 strikeouts. With command of a high fastball, curve, and changeup he got off to a 13-4 start in 1966 and was an All-Star for the first time. His performance declined during the second half of the season as he became prone to giving up home runs and his final record was 20-14 with a 3.92 ERA and 192 strikeouts. McLain became known for his flamboyant and brash personality and he also was an organist, playing solo and with groups. His 1967 season was ultimately disappointing as he produced a 17-16 tally with a 3.79 ERA and 161 strikeouts. With the Tigers locked in a wild four-team pennant race, McLain was winless in September when he missed time with a foot injury and Detroit came up a game short at season’s end.

1968 Season Summary

Appeared in 44 games

P – 41, PR – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 41

Games Started – 41 [1]

Complete Games – 28 [1]

Wins – 31 [1]

Losses – 6

PCT - .838 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 6 [2, tied with four others]

Innings Pitched – 336 [1]

Hits – 241 [2]

Runs – 86 [7, tied with Mel Stottlemyre]

Earned Runs – 73 [11, tied with Steve Hargan]

Home Runs – 31 [1]

Bases on Balls – 63

Strikeouts – 280 [2]

ERA – 1.96 [4]

Hit Batters – 6

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 3

League-leading games started were +2 ahead of runner-up Dean Chance

League-leading complete games were +9 ahead of runners-up Mel Stottlemyre & Luis Tiant

League-leading wins were +9 ahead of runner-up Dave McNally

League-leading win percentage was +.111 ahead of runner-up Ray Culp

League-leading innings pitched were +44 ahead of runner-up Dean Chance

League-leading home runs allowed were +2 ahead of runner-up Jim Hunter

Midseason Snapshot: 16-2, ERA - 2.09, SO - 142 in 172 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 9 IP) at California 5/29

10+ strikeout games – 7

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 7 IP) vs. Washington 9/28

Batting

PA – 128, AB – 111, R – 7, H – 18, 2B – 1, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 4, BB – 1, SO – 37, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .162, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 16 [1], SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 77

Put Outs – 36

Assists – 40

Errors – 1

DP – 3

Pct. - .987

Postseason Pitching: G – 3 (World Series vs. St. Louis)

GS – 3, CG – 1, Record – 1-2, PCT – .333, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 16.2, H – 18, R – 8, ER – 6, HR – 1, BB – 4, SO – 13, ERA – 3.24, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Denny McLain, Det.: 280 pts. – 20 of 20 first place votes, 100% share

Bill Freehan, Det.: 161 pts. – 58% share

Ken Harrelson, Bos.: 103 pts. – 37% share

Willie Horton, Det.: 102 pts. – 36% share

Dave McNally, Balt.: 78 pts. – 28% share

Luis Tiant, Clev.: 78 pts. – 28% share

AL Cy Young voting:

Denny McLain, Det.: 20 of 20 votes, 100% share

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Tigers went 103-59 to win the AL pennant by 12 games over the Baltimore Orioles. The pitching staff led the league in complete games (59). The Tigers led the AL for all but 15 days during the season on their way to their first pennant since 1945. Won World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3, rallying from a 3-games-to-1 deficit. LHP Mickey Lolich won three games to fuel the Detroit triumph while McLain was disappointing until winning Game 6.

Aftermath of ‘68:

McLain followed up with another strong season in 1969, compiling a 24-9 record with a 2.80 ERA and 181 strikeouts while topping the AL in wins and innings pitched (325). He was co-winner of the league Cy Young Award with Baltimore’s Mike Cuellar. During the offseason, an investigative report in Sports Illustrated linked him to mob bookmaking activities leading to his suspension by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for the first half of the 1970 season. He received further disciplinary action following his return to action and ended up with a 3-5 tally over 14 starts and a 4.63 ERA. In the offseason McLain was traded to the Washington Senators as part of an eight-player transaction. In an ineffective year with the Senators, he led the league only in losses with his 10-22 record along with a 4.28 ERA, while he battled with manager Ted Williams. With the Senators becoming the Texas Rangers in 1972, McLain was dealt to Oakland where he performed poorly both at the major and minor league levels. Following a similar brief trial with Atlanta, McLain, who had a sore arm, was out of condition, and had put on weight, found himself out of baseball at age 29. For his briefly brilliant major league career, he produced a 131-91 record with a 3.39 ERA and 1282 strikeouts over 1886 innings pitched that included 105 complete games and 29 shutouts. With the Tigers he was 117-62 with a 3.13 ERA and 1150 strikeouts. In addition to being AL MVP once and a two-time Cy Young Award winner, McLain was a three-time All-Star. After his baseball career he encountered significant financial and legal problems that caused him to spend several years in prison. Talented and determined to live life according to his own rules, his fall from the pinnacle of baseball stardom was most abrupt.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.