MLB mourns loss of Tigers’ 1968 World Series hero Mickey Lolich

The baseball world is mourning the loss of a player who made history with the Detroit Tigers.

Mickey Lolich, remembered as the Tigers’ hero in the 1968 World Series, has died, the Tigers announced. He was 85. Lolich is the last MLB pitcher to win three games in the World Series. He was named World Series MVP that year.

The Tigers said Lolich’s wife informed the franchise that Lolich was recently in hospice care. The cause of death was not released.

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In this Oct. 3, 1968, file photo, Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the second game of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. (AP Photo/File)

Lolich is No. 23 on the all-time career strikeouts list with 2,832.

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Lolich was an unlikely star of the Tigers 1968 title run. During a reunion of the World Series team, he recalled how manager Mayo Smith had sent him to the bullpen for much of August. He returned to the Tigers’ starting rotation and was 6-1 in the final weeks.

“I was having a few problems, but I had been a starting pitcher ever since 1964,” said Lolich, who was upset about the bullpen move. “I remember telling him, ‘If we win this thing this year, it’s going to be because of me.’ But I was only talking about the season. I wasn’t talking about the World Series.

“I got my revenge back in the World Series.”

Mickey Lolich, pitcher of Detroit Tigers, poses for a photo in March 1968.  (AP Photo, File)

Lolich pitched Game 7 after only two days rest. He figured he would get a Corvette from General Motors for being the Series MVP but had to settle for a Dodge Charger GT because Chrysler was the sponsor in 1968.

“Nothing against Chargers, nothing at all,” Lolich said in his book, “Joy in Tigertown.” “It’s just that I already had two of them in my driveway.”

Since Lolich, only two pitchers have won three games in a single World Series — Arizona’s Randy Johnson in 2001 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025. But they pitched fewer innings and got their third victories in relief.

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich throws out the ceremonial first pitch before a game between the Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates March 30, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

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In a statement, the Tigers expressed condolences to Lolich’s family and said his legacy “will forever be cherished.”

After his baseball career, Lolich went into the doughnut business in the Detroit suburbs, making and selling them for 18 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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