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08/23/2003 Archived Entry: "Cooperstown Confidential; August 22, 2003; by Bruce Markusen"
Regular Season Edition
Comeback Kids— Remembering The Tigers of ‘68
We have already heard a multitude of comparisons between the 2003 Tigers and the not-so-amazin’ Mets of 1962, but few would dare to mention the current-day Tigers in the same breath as their 1968 counterparts. That summer and fall, the Tigers captivated Detroit and much of Michigan with a 103-win regular season and a stirring comeback in the World Series, one in which they had trailed three games to one. The Fall Classic comeback typified the approach of the Tigers, who often fell behind in regular season play, only to roar back in the late innings. On 40 occasions, the comeback “kids” (who were actually a veteran group of older players) either came from behind or broke a tie from the seventh inning on to win games in dramatic fashion.
As a team, the Tigers of Norm Cash, Willie Horton, and Al Kaline hit only .235, but that hardly mattered given 1968’s status as the “Year of the Pitcher” and the generally overrated value of batting average. The Tigers fared far better in other categories, leading the league with 185 home runs and 671 runs scored. They also featured fine starting pitching, with the third-best staff ERA in the American League. Although the staff was not particularly deep, it featured two top-notch starting pitchers in Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich, a more than serviceable Earl Wilson, and a bullpen bolstered by the late-season additions of Don McMahon and John Wyatt.
Thirty-five years have passed since the Tigers staked claim to that memorable World Championship. In tribute to their accomplishments, and their ability to captivate a city at a time of racial unrest and rioting in the streets of Detroit, here’s an update on what has happened to many of the key Tigers since their World Series triumph.
Bill Freehan (Catcher): One of the most underrated players of the 1960s, the power-hitting Freehan remained a Tiger until the end, retiring after the 1976 season. Although he played some first base toward the tail-end of his career, he won most of his acclaim as a catcher, capturing five Gold Gloves and establishing career records for most chances and putouts and highest fielding percentage at the time of his retirement. Intelligent and well-spoken, Freehan wrote a book, Behind The Mask, which chronicled the Tigers’ 1968 season while stirring controversy because of some of its revelations about teammate Denny McLain. After his playing days, Freehan became a broadcaster, joining Dave Niehaus as part of the television crew of the Seattle Mariners in 1979. Ten years later, Freehan moved into coaching, becoming the head baseball coach of his alma mater, the University of Michigan. He held that position with the Wolverines until 1995, when he decided to step aside. Freehan then stayed out of baseball for several years until he returned to the Tigers’ organization as a roving catching instructor in 2002.
Jim Price (Backup Catcher): Restricted to only 132 at-bats in 1968 because of Freehan’s ironman tendencies behind the plate, Price played two more seasons for the Tigers before his career came to an end. He retired with a batting average of .214, 18 home runs, and 71 RBIs in 602 at-bats. After his playing career, Price became a sales representative for a Detroit-based business. Like Freehan, he decided to pursue options as a broadcaster, becoming an announcer for the Chicago White Sox before joining the Tigers’ cable TV crew in 1993. In 1998, he replaced Lary Sorensen on Tiger radio broadcasts, a position that he continues to hold in 2003. He also assists the Tigers’ front office in running baseball participation camps during the offseason.
Norm Cash (first baseman): After a solid 1969 season, Cash’s power declined in 1970, as he failed to hit 20 home runs for the first time in 10 seasons. He bounced back quickly in 1971, clubbing 32 home runs on the way to winning the Comeback Player of the Year Award for the second time in his career. “Stormin’ Norman” may have been the most colorful of the ’68 Tigers, combining a keen sense of humor with a tendency toward free-spirited behavior. With Nolan Ryan in the midst of his second no-hit performance in 1973, Cash decided to walk to the plate without a bat, instead carrying a piano leg in its place. The free-spirited Cash had every intention of using the piano leg, but was forced to discard the makeshift “bat” by the home plate umpire. Also fearless at the plate, Cash was one of the final major leaguers to wear a cap at the plate, as part of a grandfather clause attached to the 1971 rule that made batting helmets a requirement for most hitters. Cash concluded his playing career in 1974, the same year that better-known teammate Al Kaline decided to retire. After hanging up his spikes and corked bat (which he had admitted to using during the 1961 season), Cash played professional softball for a brief time before returning to the Tigers as an announcer on their cable TV broadcasts. Sadly, Cash’s post-playing days were also haunted by tragedy. In 1979, he suffered a stroke, which affected the mobility on one side of his body. In 1986, Cash slipped on a boating dock, fell into the water, and drowned within minutes, ending his life at the age of 51.
Dick McAuliffe (Second Baseman): In the 1960s, there might not have been a hitter who had a more unusual batting style than McAuliffe, who used such an open stance that he practically faced the pitcher, almost like a left-handed Tony Batista, but with his hands held higher. As the Tigers’ leadoff man in 1968, McAuliffe proved more than effective, leading the American League with 95 runs scored and not once grounding into a double play. McAuliffe remained with the Tigers for five more seasons, eventually platooning with veteran second baseman Tony Taylor, before being traded to the Boston Red Sox for slugging outfielder Ben Oglivie in 1974. The trade allowed “Muggsy” to play near his hometown of Farmington, Connecticut. With his legs wearing down, McAuliffe played only two seasons with the Red Sox, mostly as a backup. After seven games in 1975, he voluntarily retired and did not play in that fall’s World Series, but did receive a pennant ring from the Red Sox. After his playing career ended, McAuliffe became a minor league manager before moving into private business in West Simsbury, Connecticut, where he supplied coin-operated laundry equipment for college dorms and apartment complexes. McAuliffe, who is now fully retired, spends much of his spare time playing golf.
Ray Oyler (Shortstop): In the 1968 World Series, the weak-hitting Oyler lost his starting shortstop job to Mickey Stanley, a converted center fielder who figured to give the Tigers more of an offensive threat in the Series. After the Series, the Tigers left Oyler and his .135 batting average unprotected in the expansion draft, which paved the way for his selection by the Seattle Pilots. Oyler hit .350 in his first seven games with Joe Schultz’s Pilots, prompting a local radio personality to start a campaign called “Let’s Help Ray Oyler Hit .300.” The campaign didn’t work, as Oyler soon fell back into his old hitting habits and finished the season at .165 (with a slugging percentage of .267), but it did spawn the start of the “Ray Oyler Sock-It-To-Me Fan Club.” The Pilots then moved to Milwaukee prior to the start of the 1970 season, but Oyler didn’t move with them, as he was traded to the California Angels. Oyler played occasionally for the Halos, then became a player-coach for their Pacific Coast League affiliate at Triple-A Salt Lake City, and then finished his career with the PCL’s Hawaii Islanders before retiring in 1973. After hanging up his bat and glove, Oyler took up employment with the Boeing Company, a position that he held until the time of his death. On January 26, 1981, Oyler suffered a fatal heart attack while at his home in Redmond, Washington. He was just 43 years old.
Don Wert (Third Baseman): The smooth-fielding Wert played two more seasons in Detroit before being included in the blockbuster trade that sent Denny McLain to the Washington Senators. In 1971, Wert struggled badly for the Senators, picking up only two hits in 40 at-bats for a meager batting average of .050. Wert’s poor start resulted in his release; he never again played in the major leagues. After his playing career came to an abrupt end, he returned to baseball as a collegiate coach, working part-time at Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, while maintaining a full-time position with an advertising company in Ronks, Pennsylvania. Wert remains an active member of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and participates in the organization’s “Swing With The Legends” golf series.
Eddie Mathews (Backup Third Baseman): Coming to bat only 52 times for the ’68 Tigers, Mathews called it quits after the season, capping off a Hall of Fame career with his second World Championship. Mathews remained in baseball, working as a coach with the Atlanta Braves in 1971 and ’72 before replacing Luman Harris as the team’s manager in mid-season. He remained at the helm until midway through the 1974 season, when he was fired after 99 games. Fully retired from baseball by 1978, Mathews earned induction to the Hall of Fame that summer. In 2001, Mathews passed away after several years of poor health.
Dick Tracewski (Utility Infielder): The epitome of a good-field, no-hit utility infielder, Tracewski returned to Detroit to play 66 games in 1969, finishing out his playing career. Tracewski then became a minor league instructor for the Tigers before joining the major league coaching staff in 1971. In 1979, the longtime coach received his first chance at managing, albeit on an interim basis. Tracewski managed the Tigers for two games—both wins—in between the firing of Les Moss and the hiring of Sparky Anderson as Bengals manager.
Tom Matchick (Utility Infielder): The left-handed hitting Matchick returned to the Tigers in 1969 and proceeded to lead the American League in pinch-hitting. After the season, the Tigers traded Matchick to the Red Sox. He split the 1970 season with the Red Sox and Kansas City Royals before spending short stints with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971 and the Baltimore Orioles in 1972. Refusing to retire, Matchick spent the next four seasons playing in the minor leagues, bouncing from the Syracuse Chiefs to the Charleston Charlies to the Rochester Red Wings and back to Syracuse. He batted .299 for the Chiefs in 1976, but never made it back to the major leagues.
Willie Horton (Left Fielder): A seven-time All-Star during his career, Horton remained the Tigers’ regular left fielder through the 1974 season before becoming the team’s fulltime designated hitter in 1975 and ’76. Early in the 1977 season, the Tigers traded the popular Horton to the Texas Rangers for journeyman reliever Steve Foucault. Horton hit well for the Rangers, but not well enough to prevent being traded to the Cleveland Indians (along with the once-heralded David Clyde) for outfielder John Lowenstein and pitcher Tom Buskey. The 1978 season marked the most tumultuous of Horton’s career. After a bad start in Cleveland, the Indians released him on July 3. He remained out of work for 10 days, when the Oakland A’s signed him as a free agent. From there, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 15, as part of the deal that brought Rico Carty back to the Bay Area. Horton finished out the season in Toronto before declaring himself a free agent. He signed a contract with the Seattle Mariners and proceeded to hit 29 home runs with 106 RBIs in 1980, earning himself Comeback Player of the Year honors. Horton then played one more season in Seattle before finishing out his career with stints in the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League. Horton’s post-baseball credits have included his work with the Police Athletic League in Detroit. Even after his playing career, Horton remained active in baseball, serving as a coach with the Tigers, A’s, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox. He rejoined the Tigers’ organization in 2001, becoming part of a front office committee formed by team owner Mike Ilitch. Horton now works for the Tigers as an executive advisor and special assistant to the president.
Mickey Stanley (Outfielder-Shortstop): After Mayo Smith’s experiment with him as a shortstop during the World Series, Stanley returned to the more familiar environs of center field the following season. He won Gold Gloves in 1969, 1970, and 1973 (giving him four for his career), earning a reputation as one of the league’s finest center fielders. Like many of the 1968 Tigers, Stanley played his entire career with Detroit, retiring after the 1977 season. He has opted to stay out of baseball, instead toiling in private business. Working in Brighton, Michigan, he serves as the head of his own company, named “Mickey Stanley and Associates,” but often goes by his given name of Mitchell Stanley.
Jim Northrup (Outfielder): A native of Michigan, Northrup remained with the Tigers through the end of the 1973 season. He enjoyed his best season in 1969, when he hit 25 home runs and batted .295, including a 6-for-6 performance on August 29. He remained a consistent performer for the Tigers, but became expendable as part of a youth movement in the latter stages of the 1974 season. In August, the Tigers traded him to the Montreal Expos, but he spent only a month north of the border before being sold to the Baltimore Orioles. In 1975, he played well as a backup for the O’s while lockerring next to Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson. Although Northrup appeared to have plenty of life left in his bat, he surprisingly decided to retire when the Orioles refused to guarantee his contract for the 1976 season. Giving up baseball for good, Northrup became a manufacturer’s representative in Troy, Michigan. Now 63 years old, Northrup still lives and works in the suburbs of Detroit and regularly signs autograph requests through the mail.
Al Kaline (Right Fielder): Kaline, who batted .379 in the World Series against the Cardinals after returning from a broken arm, remained in a Tiger uniform for the rest of his 22-year playing career. He continued to play mostly right field for the Tigers, but became a part-time player by 1972 and did see significant action as a first baseman and DH toward the end of his playing days. On September 24, 1974, he collected his 3000th hit (with a double against Dave McNally), a fitting swansong for a player who had decided to retire at season’s end. He left the game with 399 home runs and 10 Gold Glove awards. Six years after retiring, Kaline won election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, the same year that the Tigers retired his uniform No. 6. In 1976, Kaline entered the broadcast booth, joining fellow Hall of Famer George Kell on Tiger telecasts for WWJ-TV. Kaline remained a fixture on Detroit’s broadcast crew until midway through the 2001, working with the likes of Ernie Harwell, Jim Price, and Frank Beckmann, before moving into a position as part of Mike Ilitch’s advisory committee. The move came on the heels of a promotion Kaline had received in January of 2001, when he was awarded a position as a special assistant and advisor to the team’s senior management, a post that he continues to hold for Detroit.
Gates Brown (Backup Outfielder): One of the American League’s best pinch-hitters and backup players in 1968 (he hit .370 with a slugging percentage of .685), the lefty-hitting Brown performed even more spectacularly in 1969. He delivered 18 hits in 39 pinch-hit at-bats, compiling a rousing .461 batting average in such situations. Brown remained with the Tigers for the rest of his career, playing mostly as a pinch-hitter and occasional DH until retiring in 1975. Brown accumulated 107 pinch-hits during his 13-year career with Detroit, breaking the American League record held by Fatty Fothergill. He also hit 16 pinch-hit home runs, another American League mark.
Denny McLain (Starting Pitcher): None of the ’68 Tigers has had a more tumultuous ride than McLain, the onetime ace of the staff. In 1968 and ’69, McLain won a combined 55 games, captured an MVP award, and earned two Cy Young awards as the American League’s most dominant pitcher. Unfortunately, McLain then experienced one of the most precipitous declines in major league history. In 1970, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended McLain for half of the season because of his involvement with illegal bookmakers and unsavory ties with the gambling world. McLain also received suspensions for carrying a gun and for maliciously treating members of the Detroit press. After the season, the Tigers traded McLain to the lowly Washington Senators, where he feuded with manager Ted Williams and struggled with increasing weight and a decreasing fastball. In 1971, McLain won only 10 games while losing a league-leading 22 decisions. Plain and simple, McLain pitched badly for a bad team in Washington. Yet, the controversial right-hander blamed his struggles on the way that his manager used him in the starting rotation. “I threw the ball up until July as well as I ever have for both velocity and strikes,” McLain insisted in an interview with sportswriter Ron Bergman. “Then Ted Williams said after he had seen me for two months, that it would be better for me to pitch every fifth or sixth day. I thought I was better every fourth day. He had two months of statistics. I had six years of statistics.” McLain didn’t last a second season with Williams or the Senators’ franchise, which had moved to Texas prior to the 1972 season. During spring training, the Rangers traded McLain to the Oakland A’s for two pitching prospects, Jim Panther and Don Stanhouse… In five starts with the A’s, McLain pitched poorly and exhibited extremely low velocity. One rival player was asked to compare the difference between McLain’s fastball in 1972 and the heater he threw in 1968, when he won 31 games for the Tigers. “About 20 miles an hour,” Red Sox catcher Duane Josephson told Sports Illustrated. “McLain’s ball comes up to the plate as straight as a string.” A few days after making his fifth start the A’s decided to part ways with McLain. Instead of releasing him and paying off his guaranteed contract in full, the A’s demoted McLain to their Double-A affiliate at Birmingham in the Southern League. McLain never returned to Oakland. On June 29, Charlie Finley sold McLain to the Atlanta Braves, who had earlier turned down a deal with the A’s. While McLain headed to Atlanta, Finley simultaneously purchased 1967 National League MVP Orlando Cepeda, who had managed four home runs and a .298 batting average for the Braves, but had been limited to 84 at-bats by knee troubles. Although the A’s and Braves announced the transactions as separate sales, the two teams had essentially traded former league MVPs for another, the first time in history that such a deal had taken place… McLain finished out the season in Atlanta, but drew his release the following year, ending his career just days short of his 28th birthday. McLain’s problems continued after his retirement from the game. After allowing his weight to balloon to 300 pounds, McLain, looking unrecognizable to those who remembered him as a player, suffered a heart attack. He later served 29 months in prison on racketeering, drug, and gambling convictions. McLain’s daughter, Kristen, died in a 1992 car accident. In 1997, McLain returned to federal prison after a jury convicted him of stealing millions of dollars from a union pension plan. Earlier this year, McLain was granted an early work release under the provision that he would have to work in a Michigan “7-11.”
Mickey Lolich (Starting Pitcher): Unlike McLain, Lolich pitched brilliantly in the ’68 Series (winning three games) and continued to enjoy long-term success after the splendor of 1968. In 1971, he posted a league-leading 25 victories and a whopping 308 strikeouts. He finished second in the Cy Young Award voting, falling short only to Vida Blue, who won 24 games and also captured the American League’s MVP Award. Lolich won 22 games the following year while forging a career-best 2.50 ERA, helping the Tigers to their first American League Eastern Division title. Lolich remained with the Tigers through the end of the 1975 season, before being traded to the New York Mets for star outfielder Rusty Staub. Struggling with his weight, Lolich limped to an 8-13 record for the Mets and then sat out the entire 1977 season in order to terminate his contract with New York. Now a free agent, Lolich signed with the San Diego Padres, closing out his career in the bullpen over the next two seasons. After his pitching days, Lolich gained considerable notoriety for his second “career.” Fond of sweets, he opened the Mickey Lolich Donut and Pastry Shop in Lake Orion, Michigan.
Earl Wilson (Starting Pitcher): “Moose” returned to Motown in 1969, posting another solid season, with 12 wins and a 3.31 ERA. The following year, he struggled in his first 18 appearances, prompting a trade to the San Diego Padres. Wilson pitched even more poorly, losing six of seven decisions in what turned out to be his final big league season. After his playing career, Wilson became a businessman in Detroit, starting up a multi-million dollar company known as Autotek Sealants, Inc. Wilson has also become heavily involved with the Baseball Assistance Team (also known as B.A.T.), a non-profit organization that provides financial held to baseball people in need. Wilson is the third president and CEO (and the first African-American president) of B.A.T., which is based in New York City.
Joe Sparma (Starting Pitcher): The forgotten starter on a staff that featured McLain and Lolich, Sparma temporarily lost his place in the Tigers’ 1968 rotation after a confrontation with manager Mayo Smith. On September 17, Smith called on Sparma to make an emergency start; the veteran right-hander responded with a pennant-clinching victory against the Yankees. Sparma pitched ineffectively the following season before joining the Montreal Expos in 1970. He struggled badly in nine games for the Expos, walking nearly a batter an inning, and saw his pitching career end at the age of 28. Out of baseball after his playing days, Sparma lived in Columbus, Ohio. In May of 1986, Sparma suffered a heart attack, necessitating a triple-bypass operation. He died 10 days later at the age of 44.
John Hiller (Relief Pitcher): One of the youngest members of the ’68 pitching staff, Hiller nearly became a tragic figure just three years later. He suffered an unexpected heart attack in1971, causing many to speculate that his career had ended. By the end of the 1972 season, Hiller had staged an incredible comeback, returning to the mound for the Tigers. He picked up a win in Game Four of the American League playoffs against the A’s. In 1973, he saved a major league record 38 games and won both Comeback Player of the Year and Fireman of the Year honors. He followed up that performance by winning 17 games and saving 13 others in 1974. Although Hiller’s best years were now behind him, he remained the Tigers’ relief ace for several seasons and finished his career with a then franchise record of 125 saves. He retired on May 30, 1980 as the Tigers’ all-time leader in games pitched with 545. Hiller eventually made the transition to the business world, working as an insurance salesman in Duluth, Minnesota.
Pat Dobson (Relief Pitcher): Failing to find his niche in Detroit, Dobson pitched one more season with the Tigers before being traded to the Padres (along with Dave Campbell) for Joe Niekro in December of 1969. Dobson won 14 games for the Padres, but was traded after the season to the Baltimore. As one of four 20-game winners for Baltimore, Dobson used an excellent curveball to emerge as one of the league’s top right-handers. In 1972, Dobson’s posted a fine 2.65 ERA, but suffered a hard-luck total of 18 losses. The Orioles deemed him expendable, packaging him and second baseman Dave Johnson to the Braves in a blockbuster deal that netted Baltimore hard-hitting catcher Earl “Heavy” Williams. In the middle of the 1973 season, the Braves traded Dobson to the Yankees, where he emerged as a 19-game winner the next season. After an off season in 1975 that included a clash with Yankee manager Billy Martin, Dobson was traded to the Indians for outfielder-DH Oscar Gamble. He won 16 games for the Tribe in 1976, but fell off to 3-12 with a bloated 6.16 ERA in 1977, his final major league season. After his playing days, Dobson turned to scouting, a position that has gained him some acclaim. Often outspoken in his critiques of players, Dobson continues to work as a major league advance scout for the San Francisco Giants.
John Wyatt (Relief Pitcher): An alumnus of the Negro Leagues, Wyatt joined the Tigers in the midst of the 1968 season—after starting the season in Boston and then making a pit stop with the Yankees—and pitched well in relief during the stretch run. The veteran right-hander finished out his playing career the following season, making four appearances for the Oakland A’s before being derailed by an arm injury. During his playing days, Wyatt worked in the off-season as a Kansas City real estate developer, a job that he continued in later years. Moving to Omaha in 1987, Wyatt frequently participated in autograph shows that promoted both his participation in the ’68 Series with the Tigers and the ’67 Series with the Boston Red Sox. On April 6, 1998, Wyatt died unexpectedly, the victim of a heart attack at the age of 62.
Pastime Passings
Ken Coleman (Died on August 21 in Plymouth, Massachusetts; age 78; bacterial meningitis): A longtime broadcaster and colorful storyteller, Coleman worked the Boston Red Sox broadcasting booth for 20 years over two separate stints. The deep-voiced Coleman broadcast some of the hallmark moments in Red Sox’ history, including Boston’s 1967 “Impossible Dream” pennant-clincher, Carl Yastrzemski’s 3,000th hit, and Dave Henderson’s dramatic home run in Game Five of the 1986 American League Championship Series. Though best known for his associations with the Red Sox, Coleman also broadcast for the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Noted for his sense of humor and ability to tell stories, Coleman also write five books during his career. The likeable Coleman was also actively involved in the fight against cancer, often donating his time and efforts to the Jimmy Fund at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Charlie Devens (Died on August 13 in Milton, Pennsylvania; age 93): Reported to be the last living member of the New York Yankees from Babe Ruth’s final World Championship team in 1932, Devens signed with the Pinstripers for a bonus of $5,000. Highly touted by manager Joe McCarthy, Devens pitched in only one regular season game in 1932—a complete-game victory. Devens was also on the Yankee bench during the 1932 World Series, when Babe Ruth hit his alleged “called shot” home run against Cubs pitcher Charlie Root. Devens also pitched for the Yankees in 1933 and ’34, but reportedly left baseball because his father didn’t approve of such an occupation. Devens later served in World War II, winning the Bronze Star, and eventually became a successful businessman in the Boston area.
Billy Rogell (Died on August 9 in Sterling Heights, Michigan; age 98; pneumonia): A pugnacious 14-year veteran shortstop who played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Detroit Tigers, Rogell was involved in one of the most famous plays in baseball history. The incident occurred in Game Four of the 1934 World Series, as Rogell’s Tigers and Dizzy Dean’s St. Louis Cardinals battled for baseball supremacy. Having entered the game as a pinch-runner, Dean ran toward second on a ground ball to Detroit’s Charlie Gehringer. The Hall of Fame second baseman threw to Rogell, who was playing despite a fractured ankle, for the forceout at second. Trying for the double play, Rogell threw to first, only to hit Dean in the head, knocking him unconscious. In spite of the injury, the Cardinals went on to win the Series in seven games. That was a disappointing finish to a season that had seen Rogell drive in 100 runs despite hitting a mere three home runs. The following year, Rogell and the Tigers returned to the Fall Classic, this time beating the Chicago Cubs in five games. Rogell played a key role, hitting a solid .292 against Chicago pitching… Following his playing days, Rogell served as a Detroit council member, a position that he held for nearly 40 years… On September 27, 1999, the Tigers honored Rogell by asking him to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the final game in the history of Tiger Stadium.
Mickey McDermott (Died on August 7; age 74; colon cancer): A once-promising left-hander who never quite fulfilled the predictions of some scouts, McDermott forged a journeyman career with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, and St. Louis Cardinals. An injury to his pitching elbow, combined with excessive drinking, contributed to McDermott's struggles in the major leagues… In one of the highlights of his career, McDermott pitched two one-hitters for the Red Sox in the 1940s and '50s. McDermott, who finished his career with a record of 69-69 in 12 seasons, recently issued an autobiography entitled A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cooperstown.
Bruce Markusen is the author of three books on baseball, including the award-winning A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s (ISBN number 1-878282-23-9), which is available at www.amazon.com and at many major bookstores, including Borders Books. Markusen, who has also written The Orlando Cepeda Story and Roberto Clemente: The Great One, appears regularly with host Billy Sample on MLB.com Radio (MLB.com) each Friday from 12 noon to 1:00 pm Eastern time.
