Today's blog post has us adding Detroit Tigers' great denny McLain to my 1970 "20-Win Circle" thread, celebrating all the pitchers who reached the lofty mark in 1969:
For
McLain, it was his second fantastic season in a row, posting a
league-leading 24 wins and sharing the Cy Young Award with Baltimore
Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar.
In
addition to the 24 wins, he also led the league with his nine shutouts
and 325 innings of work, posting an ERA of 2.80 while striking out 181.
It
was his second Cy Young win in a row, coming after his "all-world"
campaign in 1968 when he became to this day the last pitcher to win 30
games in a season for the World Champion Tigers.
McLain
experienced both the highs and the lows of playing in the Big Leagues,
reeling off five super seasons between 1965 and 1969, including the
aforementioned two Cy Youngs and an MVP, then plummeting in 1970 where
he never again found his form, retiring from the game at only 28 years
of age after the 1972 campaign.
His 1968 season was the stuff of legend, as he helped the Tigers on their way to a World Championship, with the 24-year
old McLain led the way anchoring the staff with an incredible 31-6
record, along with a 1.96 earned run average, 280 strikeouts, six
shutouts and completing 28 of 41 starts!Not only was that good for the Cy Young Award, but he also took home the Most Valuable Player Award as well.
Of course 1968 will forever be known as the “Year of the Pitcher”, but it does not take away from what McLain accomplished.
