DETROIT (AP) — Mickey Lolich, who had three complete-game victories for the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series, the last Major League Baseball pitcher to post the incredible feat, died Wednesday. He was 85.
The Tigers said Lolich's wife told them that he died after a short stay in hospice care. An exact cause of death was not provided.
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FILE- In this Oct. 10, 1968, file photo, Detroit Tigers Pitcher Mickey Lolich he pours bottle of champagne on his head in clubhouse after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in Game 7 of baseball's World Series in 1968. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich throws out the ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, March 30, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 1968, file photo, Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers is shown pitching during the second game of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Mickey Lolich, pitcher of Detroit Tigers poses for a photo, March 1968. (AP Photo, File)
Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehan and pitcher Mickey Lolich off his feet as he screams with joy, after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in the final game of the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 1968 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Joining the celebration is Norm Cash (25). Lolich became the twelfth pitcher to win three games in the World Series. (AP Photo)
Denny McLain was the star of Detroit’s pitching staff in 1968, winning 31 regular-season games. But Lolich was the Most Valuable Player of the Series, with a ERA of 1.67 and a Game 7 road victory over Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Bill Freehan threw off his catcher’s mask and caught a foul pop-up by Tim McCarver for the final out. Lolich jumped into Freehan’s arms — an iconic image of Detroit’s championship season.
“It was always somebody else,” Lolich told the Detroit Free Press in 2018, “but my day had finally come.”
He is No. 23 in career strikeouts with 2,832, ahead of many others who, unlike Lolich, are in the Hall of Fame, and fifth among all lefties, according to baseball-reference.com.
Lolich was an unlikely hero in 1968. During a reunion of the World Series team, he recalled how manager Mayo Smith had sent him to the bullpen for much of August. He returned to the Tigers' starting rotation and was 6-1 in the final weeks.
“I was having a few problems, but I had been a starting pitcher ever since 1964,” said Lolich, who was upset about the bullpen move. “I remember telling him, ‘If we win this thing this year it’s going to be because of me.’ But I was only talking about the season. I wasn’t talking about the World Series.
“I got my revenge back in the World Series,” he said.
Lolich pitched Game 7 after only two days of rest. He figured he would get a Corvette from General Motors for being the Series MVP but had to settle for a Dodge Charger GT because Chrysler was the sponsor in 1968.
“Nothing against Chargers, nothing at all,” Lolich said in his book, “Joy in Tigertown.” “It’s just that I already had two of them in my driveway.”
Since Lolich, only two pitchers have won three games in a single World Series: Arizona’s Randy Johnson in 2001 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025. But they pitched fewer innings and got their third victories in relief.
Lolich had a record of 220-192, including the postseason, over a 16-year career, all but three with Detroit. He left baseball for a bit after playing for the New York Mets in 1976 but returned with San Diego in 1978-79.
The left-hander was 25-14 in 1971, striking out 308 batters over 376 innings and finishing second in AL Cy Young award voting. He followed that up with a 22-14 record and 250 strikeouts in 1972.
In a statement, the Tigers expressed condolences to Lolich's family and said his legacy “will forever be cherished.”
After his baseball career, Lolich, a native of Portland, Oregon, was in the doughnut business in the Detroit suburbs, making and selling them for 18 years.
“I doubt any other ballplayer has ever made that transition — from the diamond to doughnuts. But I did,” he wrote in his book.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE- In this Oct. 10, 1968, file photo, Detroit Tigers Pitcher Mickey Lolich he pours bottle of champagne on his head in clubhouse after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in Game 7 of baseball's World Series in 1968. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich throws out the ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, March 30, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 1968, file photo, Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers is shown pitching during the second game of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Mickey Lolich, pitcher of Detroit Tigers poses for a photo, March 1968. (AP Photo, File)
Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehan and pitcher Mickey Lolich off his feet as he screams with joy, after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in the final game of the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 1968 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Joining the celebration is Norm Cash (25). Lolich became the twelfth pitcher to win three games in the World Series. (AP Photo)
