Mickey Lolich
Last night, Rod and Mario interviewed several players from the 1968 World Championship Tiger team. One of the more interesting discussions was with 1968 World Series hero Mickey Lolich. Lolich was no longer a Tiger by the time I came onto the scene in the late 70s, he was a Padre. I remember looking at the back of his 1980 Topps card and seeing he was a former Tiger and had had some really good years. I asked someone, "Why would the Tigers trade him?" I get the impression that Lolich might have had the ability to rub people the wrong way ... I sensed some bitterness in his voice last night. Some interesting things he mentioned:
Pitching at Tiger Stadium was "horrible" and the park gave up a lot of "cheap" home runs.
Players played hurt back in "his" day, especially pitchers. Most players were on one–year contracts and were constantly playing for a raise. Starters wanted to stay in game, complete them, and win them. He said that one year he might make $40,000 and if he were to win 20 games, he "might" get a raise. He said that today, teams have so much invested in players that they have to "baby" them.
The day after he retired, he was making donuts. He had purchased the donut shop (in Lake Orion, I believe) with a partner before his final season and when he retired, he went right to work.
It was cool hearing from the former players.
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