Denny McLain

Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain (born March 29, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American professional baseball player. He is the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season.

Professional playing career

McLain attended Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois, and played shortstop and pitcher. Originally signed by the Chicago White Sox, he was selected off waivers by the Detroit Tigers, where he broke into the major leagues in 1963. His first good season came in 1965, when he posted a 2.61 ERA and a 16-6 record (that is, 16 wins and 6 losses). He would remain one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball until 1969. His 1968 season was a remarkable one, as he went 31-6, was an All Star, won the Cy Young Award, won the A.L. Most Valuable Player Award, and was on the World Series-winning Detroit Tigers. McLain's World Series performance was not as stellar, however, losing Games 1 and 4 to Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals, but McLain would win the crucial Game 6, with the Tigers trailing three games to two.

Denny McLain's baseball career was shortened by associations with gamblers; he was suspended for most of the 1970 season for this behavior. He attempted a comeback with the Washington Senators the following year, but left the majors for good in 1972 at the age of 28.

McLain was a three-time All Star and won the Cy Young Award twice in his career, in 1968 and 1969, when he shared the award with Mike Cuellar. His lifetime record includes a record of 131-91, an ERA of 3.39 and 1282 strikeouts in 1886 innings pitched.

Statistics

W	L	WP	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
131	91	.590	280	264	105	29	2	1,886.0	548	1282	3.39	1.16

Post-professional playing career

In his post-baseball career his weight increased to 300 pounds, he was imprisoned for drug trafficking, embezzlement and racketeering with Anthony Spilotro and later John Gotti Jr.. Between his stints in prison and rehabilitation in the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, McLain could be found on various sports shows on talk radio and occasionally on panel-format sports shows on network television in the Detroit area. He could also be found signing autographs at a metro Detroit 7-Eleven store at the corner of Mound Road and Metro Parkway in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where he was employed on work-release. ^*

Trivia

A character in the motion picture film The Upside of Anger was partly based on McLain.

External link

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Denny McLain

Professional playing career

Statistics

Post-professional playing career

Trivia

See also

External link