Mickey Lolich

Michael Stephen Lolich (September 12, 1940 – February 4, 2026) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for the Detroit Tigers. A three-time All-Star, he won at least 14 games every year from 1964 through 1974 and struck out at least 200 batters seven times. Lolich was named Most Valuable Player of the 1968 World Series against the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals, earning three complete-game victories, including a 4-1 win over Bob Gibson in the deciding Game 7.

He finished runner-up for the 1971 American League Cy Young Award after leading the league with 25 wins, 308 strikeouts, 29 complete games, and 376 innings pitched, also setting team records in strikeouts and with 45 games started. He helped lead the Tigers to a 1972 division title with 22 victories.

By 1975, Lolich ranked fifth in major league history in career strikeouts, though by his retirement in 1979 his final total of 2,832 had slipped to seventh place. He held the major league record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher from 1975 until 1980, when Steve Carlton passed him, and held the corresponding American League record as well.