Tuesday, June 21, 2022

1970 IN-GAME ACTION: MICKEY LOLICH

Today on the blog we go and add Detroit Tigers ace Mickey Lolich to my 1970 "In-Game Action" set, which is a two-part custom set released by yours truly, with the Second Series about to be released in about a month:

 
Lolich was the definition of a "workhorse" for the Tigers, reeling off 12 straight seasons of 200+ innings pitched, including a staggering four straight 300+ inning stretch between 1971 and 1974.
Along the way he posted two 20-win seasons, with a high of 25 in 1971 when he started an incredible 45 games, completing 29 and throwing a staggering 376 innings!
He also posted four shutouts that year as well as a league-leading 308 strikeouts, finishing second in the Cy Young Award behind Oakland pitcher Vida Blue.
After a 12-18 campaign in 1975, Lolich was traded to the New York Mets for Rusty Staub where he went 8-13 before missing the 1977 season.
In 1979 he was back in the Big Leagues, now with the San Diego Padres, where he went 2-1 over 20 appearances, posting a brilliant 1.56 ERA over 34.2 innings pitched.
After a final season of MLB ball in 1979 that saw him go 0-2 with a bloated 4.74 ERA in 27 appearances, Lolich retired, ending up with a 217-191 record along with 2832 strikeouts, at one point the Major League record for left-handed pitchers, as well as 41 shutouts and a 3.44 ERA in 586 appearances over 16-years.

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