The Hall of Fame Case for Mickey Lolich

Consistency is the yardstick by which excellence is measured.  Mickey Lolich, a Detroit baseball icon, demonstrated consistency, ergo, excellence in a pitching career that, perhaps surprisingly, has not yet warranted admittance to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Lolich was a perfect fit for the blue-collar metropolis that defined American industry in the 20th century by churning out Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets, Fords, Chryslers, and Pontiacs.  Performing his pitching tasks with efficiency, aplomb, and reliability, Lolich emblemized the work ethic of Detroit’s working class demographic.  Do the job.  Do it well.  Do the same thing tomorrow.

Lolich had six straight seasons of at least 200 strikeouts; in 1971, he led the American League in strikeouts with 308.  Tom Seaver, the National League leader, trailed Lolich with 289 strikeouts.  Additionally, Lolich pitched 376 innings in 1971, the most in the major leagues since Grover Cleveland Alexander’s 388 innings for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1917.

In a career spanning 1963 to 1979, with a hiatus in 1977, Lolich had a career win-loss record of 217-191. Though Lolich’s victory total is far from the magic number of 300, he recorded other achievements meriting consideration for Cooperstown.  Lolich tallied 2,832 strikeouts, just shy of the gloried 3,000 plateau.  With a career total of 586 games pitched, one additional strikeout every 3.5 games would have launched Lolich into the vaunted 3K pantheon.  Still, the 2,832 number is impressive, giving Lolich the distinction of being the pitcher with the 18th highest number of career strikeouts, more than Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson, Don Drysdale, Warren Spahn, Sandy Koufax, Lefty Grove, Dazzy Vance, Early Wynn, and Jim “Catfish” Hunter.

Using Hunter and Drysdale as a basis, a Lolich analysis reveals comparable statistics.

Stacked against Drysdale in ERA and Home Runs Against, Lolich falls shorts.  He has eight more career victories than Drysdale, but he played in nearly 70 more games.  Compared to Hunter, Lolich played in 86 more games and notched only seven less career victories.  One can argue that Lolich had more opportunities for victory but didn’t deliver.  On the other hand, Lolich’s endurance is a factor to consider.

In 1968, the Detroit Tigers won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Game Seven paired Lolich and Cardinals powerhouse Bob Gibson in a battle of pitching titans.  Lolich secured a victory, notching 3-0 in the ’68 series to cap his 17-9 record.  Naturally, Lolich won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.  But he wasn’t the only force on Detroit’s pitching staff—Tigers ace Denny McLain conquered American League opponents, tallying a 31-6 record.  McLain is the last major league pitcher to win at least 30 games.