Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain became the last Major League Baseball pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season (with a record of 31–6) — a feat accomplished by only 11 players in the 20th century, with the most recent 34 years earlier.
As a player, McLain was known for his outspoken nature, which occasionally led to conflicts with teammates and fans. His early major league career included notable achievements such as two Cy Young awards and an American League MVP award. While achieving success in baseball, McLain faced legal issues in his personal life, including convictions related to organized crime and embezzlement, for which he served time in prison.
Professional playing career
The rise to stardom
McLain was born in Markham, Illinois, and attended Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago, where he played on the baseball team as a shortstop and pitcher. McLain's minor league debut was notable for throwing a no-hitter and striking out 16 batters in a game against the Salem Rebels on June 28. He ended the season with a 16–6 record, a 2.61 earned run average, and 192 strikeouts, the third-highest strikeout total in the American League behind Sam McDowell and teammate Mickey Lolich. Although he had a curveball and a changeup, he relied mostly on his fastball to get batters out. He finished the season with a 20–14 record with a 3.92 earned run average. Sain helped develop McLain's pitching skills and taught him the psychology of pitching. The 1967 season was memorable due to the tight four-way pennant race between the Tigers, the Boston Red Sox, the Minnesota Twins, and the Chicago White Sox. On September 18, McLain reported that he had severely injured two toes on his left foot, saying that he had stubbed them after his foot had fallen asleep.
The year of the pitcher
Ten games into the 1968 season, the Tigers were in first place, having won nine consecutive games after losing the opener. McLain made controversial statements in early May by criticizing Detroit fans for being "the biggest front-running fans in the world." He continued to win games at a remarkable pace, registering his 29th victory on September 10. On September 13, he appeared on the cover of Time. On September 14 at Tiger Stadium, McLain pitched the Tigers to a 5–4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in front of a nationally televised audience to become Major League Baseball's first 30-game winner since 1934. Dizzy Dean, the previous 30-game winner, was on hand to congratulate him. When Mantle—who was nine days away from his last major league appearance—came to bat in the eighth inning with the Tigers leading 6–1, McLain intentionally threw a soft pitch directly over home plate. Mantle hit the pitch for his 535th career home run (the penultimate home run Mantle would hit in his career), putting him in sole possession of third place on the all-time home run list, behind only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. After Mantle's home run, McLain remained on the pitcher's mound and acknowledged the moment, while Mantle acknowledged McLain as he rounded the bases. After the game, McLain smilingly denied that he had served up an easy pitch for Mantle to hit; however, he was later reprimanded by Major League Baseball Commissioner William Eckert. McLain also earned his second All-Star berth and won the 1968 American League Cy Young Award, as well as the American League Most Valuable Player Award, the first by an American League pitcher since Bobby Shantz in 1952 and the first by a Tiger since fellow pitcher Hal Newhouser's back-to-back honors in 1944 and 1945. He was the first pitcher in American League history to win the Most Valuable Player Award and the Cy Young Award in the same season. St. Louis Cardinal Bob Gibson won the National League's Most Valuable Player Award that same year, making 1968 the only season to date in which a pitcher won the MVP Award in both leagues (it was also the only time both Cy Young Award winners were voted unanimously until 2022). McLain was also the inaugural winner of The Sporting News Sportsman of the Year award.
McLain's performance in the Tigers' 1968 World Series triumph over the Cardinals was not as impressive as his regular season. Having already pitched 336 innings and 28 complete games during the regular season, a sore-armed McLain lost twice to Gibson (including a still-standing World Series record 17-strikeout performance in the opener) to help put the Tigers down three games to one. Trailing three games to two, McLain won the crucial Game 6 on just two days' rest, aided by a grand slam home run from Jim Northrup. Teammate Mickey Lolich won three games during the series, including a complete-game triumph (also on two days’ rest) in Game 7 against Gibson, and won the World Series MVP award. After the season, when McLain was asked about Lolich's performance in the World Series, he responded controversially by saying: "I wouldn't trade one Bob Gibson for 12 Mickey Loliches." Pitchers such as McLain and Gibson among others dominated hitters, producing 339 shutouts in 1968. Since then, no pitcher has won more than 27 games in a season.
Later career
In January 1969, McLain was selected as the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. He created more disruption when he was named as the starting pitcher for the American League in the 1969 All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., but missed the start of the game because of a dental appointment in Detroit. The appointment was scheduled for Wednesday the 23rd, the day after the All-Star game, but because of a rainout on the scheduled date, the game was played on the 23rd.
McLain often deviated from conventional expectations, demonstrating an independent approach.
McLain had disagreements with Tigers' manager Mayo Smith, including disputes over the firing of pitching coach Johnny Sain. It was the last award of his major league career. He returned in mid-season, but struggled to pitch well. Kuhn actually had to clear the trade because McLain was still under suspension, and suspended players cannot be traded without the commissioner's permission. Kuhn later wrote in his autobiography, Hardball: The Education of a Baseball Commissioner, that he was shocked at what he called a "foolish gamble" by the Senators, and predicted that the trade would turn out to be a Tiger heist.
The McLain trade occurred despite objections from Senators manager Ted Williams, who reportedly disagreed with the decision. The feeling was mutual; early in the 1971 season, McLain became a charter member of the "Underminers' Club", a group of five players dedicated to getting Williams fired. They spent much of the season feuding over Williams' use of a then-unusual five-man rotation for his starters. Senators broadcaster Shelby Whitfield later told Rob Neyer that when Williams yanked McLain early from a July 5 game against the Cleveland Indians, McLain threatened to call Senators owner Bob Short and have him get rid of Williams.
By this time, McLain had serious arm trouble, inadvertently made worse by numerous cortisone shots he took for his sore arm. On June 29, Oakland traded him to the Atlanta Braves for Orlando Cepeda; he went only 3–5 for Atlanta, and his overall totals for 1972 were 4–7 with a 6.37 ERA. His final major league appearance came on September 12 against the Cincinnati Reds; he came into a tied game in the ninth and promptly gave up three runs without retiring a batter, taking the loss. (Coincidentally, the last batter McLain ever faced in the major leagues was Pete Rose, who also was involved in a gambling scandal years later.) After short stints with minor-league clubs in Des Moines and Shreveport, McLain retired. He was invited to appear with his musical quartet on The Ed Sullivan Show along with his World Series opponent (and guitarist) Bob Gibson. McLain also made appearances on The Steve Allen Show and The Joey Bishop Show. He also released two albums on Capitol Records, Denny McLain at the Organ (1968) and Denny McLain in Las Vegas (1969).
Career statistics
In a 10-year major-league career, McLain won 131 games against 91 losses. His career earned run average was 3.39 and he recorded 1,282 strikeouts in 1,886 innings pitched. McLain was a three-time All-Star and won the Cy Young Award twice in his career. Because he relied so much on his fastball, he also surrendered numerous home runs, leading the American League in home runs allowed in three consecutive years (1966–1968). With Major League Baseball teams transitioning from the four-man pitching rotation of McLain's era to five-man rotations, and with the increased reliance on relief pitchers, some observers believe that another 30-game winner may not occur because of the way the game is played today. McLain also earned quite a bit of money hustling golf, easily attracting "marks" due to his past baseball fame. Additionally, he reportedly once accepted over $160,000 to fly a wanted felon out of the country. 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. In part to escape his grief, McLain and several partners bought the Peet Packing Company (Farmer Peet's) located in the small town of Chesaning, Michigan, in 1994. McLain was also a partner in the Michigan Radio Network. Both companies went bankrupt two years later. In 1996, he was convicted on charges of embezzlement, mail fraud, and conspiracy in connection with the theft of $2.5 million from the Peet employees' pension fund. McLain spent six years in prison; in 2008, he insisted that he knew nothing about the shady financial deals alleged by the government. McLain claims he paid restitution for this incident.
During the Detroit Tigers 2006 playoff run, McLain was the baseball analyst for Drew and Mike on WRIF radio in Detroit. In 2007, McLain released his autobiography I Told You I Wasn't Perfect, co-authored by longtime Detroit sportscaster and author Eli Zaret. Prior to that, McLain and Zaret hosted a sports television show together in Detroit.
McLain currently resides in Pinckney, Michigan. McLain writes a monthly editorial column and blogs regularly for In Play! Magazine, a Detroit sports magazine.
Kevin Costner's character in the 2005 film The Upside of Anger was partly based on McLain (and also partly on Kirk Gibson, another Tiger of World Series note).
On April 11, 2008, McLain was arrested without incident after deputies discovered an outstanding warrant against him for failing to appear for a January 16 court hearing.
On September 22, 2011, McLain was arrested in Port Huron, Michigan at the Canada–United States border after officials discovered an outstanding warrant against him from St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Because of construction detours, McLain had inadvertently taken an exit off I-94, sending him directly across the Blue Water Bridge and into Canada. He immediately returned to the U.S., where he was obligated to go through U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection. The outstanding warrant was then discovered, for which McLain was jailed in Port Huron. In less than a week, the warrant was cleared and McLain was released.
From 2017 to 2018, McLain hosted a Sunday radio show about life and politics on WFDF (AM).
In January 2019 McLain and former local sportscasters Eli Zaret and Bob Page launched a podcast called No Filter Sports.
In October 2020, McLain held an estate sale hosted by Aaron's Estate Sales. This event was covered nationally by outlets such as ESPN and the Associated Press.
See also
- List of Detroit Tigers team records
- List of Detroit Tigers Opening Day starting pitchers
- List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
- List of World Series starting pitchers