DETROIT — Mickey Lolich, who had three complete-game victories for the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series, the last Major League Baseball pitcher to post the incredible feat, died Wednesday. He was 85.
The Tigers said Lolich’s wife told them that he died after a short stay in hospice care. An exact cause of death was not provided.
Denny McLain was the star of Detroit’s pitching staff in 1968, winning 31 regular-season games. But Lolich was the Most Valuable Player of the Series, with an ERA of 1.67 and a Game 7 road victory over Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Bill Freehan threw off his catcher’s mask and caught a foul popup by Tim McCarver for the final out. Lolich jumped into Freehan’s arms — an iconic image of Detroit’s championship season.
«It was always somebody else,» Lolich told the Detroit Free Press in 2018, «but my day had finally come.»
post on X, while his former teammate — Willie Horton — described him as a «great pitcher, teammate, and champion» in a statement issued via the Tigers on social media.
A statement from Willie Horton on the passing of his teammate Mickey Lolich: pic.twitter.com/EpKDwjfQs9
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) February 4, 2026
Lolich had a record of 220-192, including the postseason, over a 16-year career, all but three with Detroit. He left baseball after playing for the New York Mets in 1976 but returned with San Diego in 1978-79.
The left-hander was 25-14 in 1971, striking out 308 batters over 376 innings and finishing second in AL Cy Young award voting. He followed that up with a 22-14 record and 250 strikeouts in 1972.
After his baseball career, Lolich, a native of Portland, Oregon, was in the doughnut business in suburban Detroit, making and selling them for 18 years.
«I doubt any other ballplayer has ever made that transition — from the diamond to doughnuts. But I did,» he wrote in his book.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
