Denny McClain's Gift to Mickey Mantle

With the Red Sox all but toast this season, my sports heart is now occupied with football, both college and pro. With Ohio State to root for on the NCAA side—and both the Pats and the Redskins to cheer on in the NFL (“how ‘bout them Cowboys!?”), baseball has taken a definite back seat…until next year!

This was however, a big day in baseball history, as Denny McClain became a 30 game winner on this date in 1968. I was 10 years old—and I remember how the Detroit Tigers were on fire! Denny’s feat is rare. I think Dizzy Dean first accomplished a 30 game-winning season in 1938—and no one has done it since. And, unless a team goes back to a four man rotation, it will likely never occur again.

The pivotal game was a 5-4 come-from-behind decision over the Oakland A’s. McClain was a mere 24 years old that year—and NBC, in anticipation of the milestone, broadcast the game nationally—with Dizzy Dean doing color commentary!

Perhaps the most entertaining story about McClain comes from Yankee great Mickey Mantle, who asserts that McClain intentionally let him hit a home run in Detroit that same year. Check out this video of Mantle telling the story:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdl6ABq6E3w


A lot of true competitive sports fans would be shocked or angered at this story, but not me.

I love it.

And, while I doubt that type of thing would ever happen in today’s sport, I wish it would. Not necessarily a gift homer, but the kind of sportsmanship back then that was as common as taking a pitch on a 3-0 count.

McClain was named the Cy Young Award winner (not surprisingly) in that magical 1968 season—and repeated in 1969. Then, the story turned darker as McClain was suspended on suspicion of gambling. He served prison time for racketeering in the 80’s and again a decade later for money laundering.

Maybe serving up a freebie to Mantle wasn’t the ONLY manipulation of the game that McClain is guilty of.

Still, it’s one of the all-time great baseball stories.

If you’d like my blog in your weekday inbox, just let me know! Tim.moore@citcomm.com