Mickey Lolich ✝

Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1962 until 1979, most notably for the Detroit Tigers. He is best known for his performance in the 1968 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals when he earned three complete-game victories, including a win over Bob Gibson in the climactic Game 7. Lolich is one of only 22 major league pitchers to have struck out at least 2,800 batters in his career. He is of Croatian descent.\n', ' Lolich was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1958. After five seasons in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut with the Tigers on May 12, 1963 at age 22. He blossomed in 1964 with 18 wins and 192 strikeouts in his first full major league season. In 1965, he fell to 14-14 but improved to 226 strikeouts, second best in the American League behind Sam McDowell.\n', ' In 1967, the Tigers hired former major league pitcher Johnny Sain as their pitching coach. Sain helped develop Lolich\'s pitching skills and taught him psychological aspects of pitching. The 1967 season was a memorable one for the tight four-way pennant race among the Tigers, the Boston Red Sox, the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. On July 25, Lolich was called to active duty with the Michigan Air National Guard in response to ongoing riots in Detroit. Lolich, a staff sergeant, spent twelve days on active duty. Upon returning to the team, he received death threats, allegedly from the Black Panthers, for his role in quelling the riot. In response, the Federal Bureau of Investigation placed a team of snipers on the roof of Tiger Stadium during his following two starts.\n', '