DETROIT, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – One of the finest pitchers in Detroit Tigers franchise history, Mickey Lolich, has died at the age of 85.
Lolich was a three-time All-Star who pitched for Detroit for 13 seasons and holds several Tigers team records. He was a member of the 1968 World Series Champion Tigers team, earning World Series MVP honors after posting a 3-0 record with a 1.67 ERA.
According to a post from the Tigers, Lolich will be remembered as one of the most durable and dominant left-handed pitchers of his era and a cornerstone of Detroit’s pitching staff for more than a decade.
He signed with the Tigers in 1958 and debuted in 1963. After leaving the Tigers, he spent a season with the New York Mets and two seasons with the San Diego Padres. Lolich appeared on the writers’ ballot for 15 years but was never elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He was born September 12, 1940 in Portland, Oregon.
In an interview with WHTC News of Holland more than 20 years ago, he recalled that the sting of losing the 1967 American League pennant to the Incredible Dream Boston Red Sox on the last day of the season spurred the Bengals to The Year of the Tiger 1968.
Lolich’s death leaves just Mickey Stanley, Willie Horton, Jon Warden, Denny McLain, John Hiller and Dick Tracewski still alive from that 1968 World Championship Tigers team.
-Gary Stevens of WHTC-AM/FM contributed to this report
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