RIP Mickey Lolich, 1940-2026

[G-Fafif]

Mickey Lolich, Tigers World Series hero and reluctantly accepted Met, has died at 85.

[Edgy MD]

I've been thinking about Mickey since Wilbur Wood died.

How many terrific pitchers from that era never got a tumble from the Hall of Fame, but look better every year now that 300 wins is a myth, 200 is mostly out reach for even the best, and even Jacob deGrom is still looking up at 100?

There was all this handwringing over the likes of Bert Blyleven and Don Sutton, who put up mountainous numbers but were rarely ever sexy, and even over the Don Drysdales who were sexy af, but not for a full generation. But Wilbur Wood, Mickey Lolich, Tommy John, Luis Tiant, Joe Niekro, Jerry Koosman, Vida Blue, and the like are all condemned to die off without their file even being reopened.

Fie on that.

[Chad ochoseis]

The fact that there were seven guys like that from your list, and you might be able to throw Jim Perry into that pile as well, argues against any of them getting in.

Tommy John has the strongest case. You get a widely used surgical procedure named after you, you probably belong.

Jim Hunter would've never gotten in, either. He owes a huge debt to Charley Finley for naming him Catfish.

[kcmets]

Mickey Lolich is one of the all-time cooler baseball names. RIP.

[Cowtipper]

I had been under the impression he'd been a goner for a while. Stuck around on the Hall of Fame ballot for a long time and has gotten VC support. With the way we reevaluate pitchers and put less emphasis on W-L record (a la Billy Pierce), I could see him getting more consideration again down the line -- especially since Jim Kaat finally got in.

Also I've mispronounced his name my whole life; I thought the "Lol-" was like "lollipop," but it's actually like the word "low."

Edited February 5 by Cowtipper

[MFS62]

He didn’t exactly have a classic athletic build.

I think he once said, “ lady, I’m not an athlete, I’m a baseball player”.

RIP

Later

[Edgy MD]

That was John Kruk.

At least, it is credited to him, clearly by himself included. But the way Tug McGraw and Bill Lee often claimed the same quotes, it is hard to tell original sources when guys get to write their own myths.

[Frayed Knot]

My main memory of Lolich as a Met deals not with his performance on the field (for obvious reasons) but the time I was at 'Picture Day' at Shea.

Prior to the game the players walked around the infield part of the warning track [foul pole to behind the plate to foul pole] allowing (mostly) youngsters to

snap away at their heroes at close range with their Kodak 'Instamatics' or whatever else you had. But not all the players walked. Mickey came around on a

motorcycle. He also had a passenger but I forget which teammate that was.

Prior to his Metdom one of course associates Lolich with the Tigers and specifically the WS winning '68 team featuring with the 1-2 punch of him and Denny McLain.

McLain was the bigger story that year with his 31-6 record and 1.96 ERA in 41 starts / 336 innings., giving him the first of his back-to-back CY awards.

Lolich put up a more pedestrian -- particularly considering it was the 'Year of the Pitcher' -- 17-9 / 3.29 / 32 starts (+ 7 relief apps) over 220 IP, but in the

World Series (in that final season prior to any prelim playoffs) Lolich tossed three CGs winning:

- Game #2 8-1 on October 2nd

- Game #5 5-3 on October 7th (with Detroit down three games to one)

- Game #7 4-1 on October 10th (that's two days rest for those hard of math) to win the clincher

while McLain got bopped around a bit in his three starts (1-2, 3.24)

* Lolich is listed in BB-Ref at 6' 1" / 170 which naturally leads to the old joke about what his weight would be if he put the other foot on the scale.

* And although Mickey was hardly the picture of fitness for an athlete, neither was McLain, particularly as his career and personal life started spiraling

downward by the early '70s. McLain however, several years younger than Lolich, is still going at age 81.

* After starting 83 games and hurling 661 innings between 1968 & 1969 (CY both years) at ages 24 & 25, McLain went on to throw less than

400 more innings (for four different clubs) over the remainder of his career. Not all of his problems were physical.

[Edgy MD]

Mickey came around on a

motorcycle. He also had a passenger but I forget which teammate that was.

 

What's the story, Giuseppe Torre?

[smg58]

When I first started following baseball and the Mets, Mickey Lolich was the guy they had just gotten in a big trade. Had I known anything about Rusty Staub at the time, I would have probably been less impressed.

[MFS62]

A little help, please.

I'm not sure which part of this link can be used to insert in the youtube helper.

[YOUTUBE]gfZR-Hcsm7I[/YOUTUBE]

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Mickey came around on a

motorcycle. He also had a passenger but I forget which teammate that was.

 

What's the story, Giuseppe Torre?

 

Ah, yes. That jogs the ol' memory.

I was down the LF line so not even anywhere in the background of that picture.

[Edgy MD]

Bob Murphy, Billy Wagner, Mickey Lolich — what's the common thread?

[stevejrogers]

Bob Murphy, Billy Wagner, Mickey Lolich — what's the common thread?

 

Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?

[Frayed Knot]

Righties who turned into lefties.

[Edgy MD]

Righties who became lefties after childhood injuries, to be more specific, but you get the points and control of the board.

[MFS62]

Thanks to the person who helped me post that.

Later

[Edgy MD]

The fact that there were seven guys like that from your list, and you might be able to throw Jim Perry into that pile as well, argues against any of them getting in.

 

I'm not sure how that works. A large class of candidates emerging, to me, should not disqualify them all because of the class' largeness. Sometimes, we have to look deeper.

And man, I didn't even get to include Jerry Reuss.

If nobody anymore — seemingly nobody at all — can do what Mickey Lolich did, that makes me want to pull his file again.

[G-Fafif]

A few thoughts on the proximate passings of Mickey Lolich and Terrance Gore here.

[Edgy MD]

That was some great reading. Thanks. Cardboard Gods stuff.

Also, the shots you use of Mickey make me realize how much Rodney Dangerfield the guy had in him, and how appropriately so.

[fimg=300]https://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0073-742x1024.jpeg[/fimg] [fimg=300]https://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0067.jpeg[/fimg]

The card in that second shot deserves a spot right next between Oscar Gamble and Tommie Agee in the Hand-Painted Topps Card Hall of Fame.