Denny McLain

[bigunreal]

I believe that the single most under-recognized accomplishment in the
modern history of sports is Denny McClain's 31 win season in 1968. I
just heard that obnoxious idiot "Greenie" on the Mike & Mike ESPN
radio show talk about the lowering of the pitching mound following the
'68 season, and he said it was because of "Bob Gibson." Huh? What about
Denny McClain? McClain's accomplishment was remarkable, akin to someone
hitting .400. Consider that he is the only Major League pitcher in the
past 70 years to win 30 games in a season. I know McClain fell on hard
times in recent years, but his performance that season was incredible
and should be remembered.

 

[jaxvid]

I remember Denny McClain well. He was a totally dominant pitcher who pitched tons of innings. In his 31-6 season he had like 26 complete games. I bet no pitcher in baseball finished 10 games last year. He also won 20 in 3 other seasons. McClain could be a big time jerk and has two prison sentences to prove it, although not for violent crimes. He is still a popular guy in Detroit but his post career antics have hurt his long term reputation. Gibson is one of the few black pitchers who was dominant and he stayed in the game for years. Gibson outpitched McClain in the 1968 Series but Mickey Lolich outpitched Gibson to win game seven and the series for the Tigers.

 

[Don Wassall]

That's such typical Caste System propaganda to associate 1968 with only Gibson, when it was The Year of the Pitcher. Gibson hadthat great 1.12ERAin '68(yet still somehow managed to lose 9 games while winning 22), but you had McLain's 31 wins, which as B&R says iscomparable to hitting .400, Don Drysdale throwing 58 consecutive scoreless innings, and pitching dominating hitting like it hadn't since the Dead Ball Era, if even then. Carl Yastrzemski led the AL with a .301 average in '68; the second highest hitter was around .290.


McLain's31 winsshould stand as long as there are five-man starting staffs, and even if there is a reversion to four starters it would be a very tough mark to match or top.

 

[KD52171]

First pitcher to win 30 games?





Dizzy Dean then Denny Mcclain.

 

[Don Wassall]

McLain was the first and only 30 game winner since Dizzy Dean, but there wereothers before Dizzy. Jack Chesbro won 41 gamesin 1904, which I believe is the all-time record for wins in a season.

 

[bigunreal]

There were many 30 win seasons by pitchers in the years preceding 1920.
If you go back far enough (which I often enjoy doing), you have the
legendary "Old Hoss" Radbourne, who won an incredible 60 games in the
1884 season. He also pitched something like the last 39 games of the
season, all of them complete games, to lead his team. Not exactly
comparable to today's game, but still an incredible accomplishment. HOF
pitchers like Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Grover
Cleveland Alexander all had multiple 30 win seasons. The last American
League pitcher to win 30 before McClain was Lefty Grove in 1931.

 

[sport historian]

I saw Bob Gibson pitch against Don Drysdale in a 1965 game in old Sportsman's Park. Gibson gave up HR's to Lou Johnson and Jim Lefebvre, leaving the game trailing in about the 8th inning. The Cards rallied to win in the bottom of the 9th with Ron Perranoski blowing the game for the Dodgers.


Regarding Don's comment that Gibson still lost 9 games in 1968, that was typical. Gibsontended to losea lot of low-scoring games. I used to listen often to Harry Caray doing the Cardinal games on KMOX during the 1960's. These were the kind Sandy Koufax would win.

 

[Don Wassall]

Sport Historian, you have simply an amazing memory for detail.


Speaking of Gibson's rather inexplicable 22-9 record in '68 to go with an ERA of 1.12, it should be added for those who don't remember or don't know, that the Cardinals were the NL pennant winners that season, which makes Gibson's won-loss record even less impressive.

 

[sport historian]

Don, that 1965 game was the first major league game I ever saw in person. Both Johnson and Lefebvre's HR's were hit on the right field roof. Sandy Koufax had pitched and won, the night before. I recall seeibg Koufax running in the outfield before the game. As I recall, Dick Groat singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded to win the game. Ron Perranoski was the loser as I previously mentioned.


Yes, the Cardinals won the pennant by a big margin in 1968. I listened to many of their games on the radio. I recall Gibson losing several low-scoring games. It was a bit strange to lose 9 games with a 1.12 ERA on a pennant winner who had the race locked up by July.

 

[KD52171]

I was strictly talking modern day baseball.

 

[Don Wassall]

Here's a front cover of a Sports Illustrated with McLain on it. It's very difficult to read the print but I would assume this is from '68, the year of his 31 wins. Look in the upper right -- "The Black Athlete, Part 5." I would like to read that series of early Caste System propaganda. Probably a lot in there foretelling what was to come beginning in the late '60s and then really coming to fruition with the onset of the '80s.

Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[sport historian]

Don, that series that SI ran on the black athlete in 1968 was big news at the time. However, it was mainly about discrimination "against black athletes." The theme of the series was that blacks were "stacked on the depth chart," or were "kept on the bench and held back by racist white coaches, plus not allowed to play certain positions." The author (Jack Olsen)also saw something sinister in the fact that most NFL QB's at the time were Southern by high school or college affiliation. He seemed to think that QB's would discriminate about the receivers they would throw to.


You should go to a library that has back issues of SI. The series reflects racial politics as they were in 1968.

 

[IceSpeed2]

McClain winning 30 games reminds me more of
Roger Clemens right now than Bob Gibson's earned run average. To
win 30 games, you have to be on every day. Thats what Clemens is
pretty much. Curt Schilling a couple years back had 14 wins at
the break, but faded. Gibson, I bet, not only had the worse,
"worse outing", than McClain, but also pitched fewer innings.

 

[foreverfree]

McClain winning 30 games reminds me more of Roger Clemens right now than Bob Gibson's earned run average. To win 30 games, you have to be on every day. Thats what Clemens is pretty much. Curt Schilling a couple years back had 14 wins at the break, but faded. Gibson, I bet, not only had the worse, "worse outing", than McClain, but also pitched fewer innings.

I have my Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia in front of me, so I'll run the 1968 stats for Denny and Hoot...

DENNY McLAIN
Wins - 31 (led MLB)
Losses - 6
W-L pct. - .838 (led AL)
ERA - 1.96
Games pitched - 41
Games started - 41 (led AL)
Complete games - 28 (led AL)
Innings pitched - 336 (led AL)
Hits yielded - 241 (6.45 per 9 inn)
Walks yielded - 63 (1.69 per 9 inn)
Strikeouts - 280 (7.5 per 9 inn)
Shutouts - 6

BOB "Hoot" GIBSON
Wins - 22
Losses - 9
W-L pct. - .710
ERA - 1.12 (led MLB)
Games pitched - 34
Games started - 34
Complete games - 28
Innings pitched - 304 2/3
Hits yielded - 198 (5.85 per 9 inn)
Walks yielded - 62 (1.83 per 9 inn)
Strikeouts - 268 (7.92 per 9 inn)
Shutouts - 13 (led MLB)

I watched an ESPN Classic SportsCentury on McLain a couple of years ago. He was interviewed in his jail cell. I don't know how much time he has left to do, but IMO it would probably do his ego good if, when he gets out, he's signed by the Tigers (of course - and why not, they signed Ron LeFlore out of prison), perhaps one September after the roster limits go up and be afforded a Jim Bouton-like comeback, just for "fun". Remember when Jim Bouton quit his job as a NY sports reporter to work his way up through the Braves system, and wound up pitching for Atlanta late in the '78 season? He wrote all about it in the addendum he added to
Ball Four ten years after the original came out.

John

 

[IceSpeed2]

What's your point? The difference is less than
I expected, but Gibson pitched fewer inning than Mclain. Judging
from strikeouts and starts, I would say McLain was more valuable than
Gibson. Gibson probably had the worst, "worst outing" and
was less consistent.

 

[foreverfree]

What's your point?

My point is, I thought I was doing you and everyone else a favor by running the 1968 stats on McLain and Gibson, and letting whoever reads that post decide.

A good topic, this.

I have precious little time to undertake much microanalysis (read, going to RetroSheet or baseball-reference.com)

, which is why I haven't put forth an opinion on which these aces of '68 had the better year. Heck, I was only 7 years old in 1968.

John