How many MLB fans do you think could answer this question: When was the last time a pitcher won 30 or more games in a season?
Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan retired after the 1993 season as MLB’s all-time strikeout leader with 5,714. He also won 324 games over a 27-year career.
Throw in the seven no-hitters that the fastball specialist registered, and there’s little debate that all three of those accomplishments won’t be matched anytime soon. But as far as pitching records go, one single-season holy grail accomplishment tops even Ryan’s incredible numbers.
Denny McLain spent eight of his 10 MLB seasons with the Detroit Tigers. When the 1968 regular season ended, McLain boasted a 31–6 win-loss record. The game had not had a 30-game winner since Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean 34 years earlier.
No pitcher since has equaled or bettered McLain’s 1968 record. He took home the Cy Young Award and American League MVP Award, and the Detroit Tigers were World Series champions that magical season in Motown.
Baseball clings to its records more than the other major sports in North America, putting its record-breaking heroes high on a pedestal and immortalizing them. But given how the game and particularly pitching have changed from when McLain last threw an MLB ball with the Atlanta Braves in 1972, McLain’s record doesn’t seem to be on the radar of coaching staffs today.
McLain threw 28 complete games in 1968. During the 2024 season, a combined 35 complete games were hurled by all 30 clubs. In 1968 MLB pitchers averaged 6.9 innings per starting assignment, but that number last season dipped to 5.24 innings. During the 1968 season McLain started 41 games, and the following season, he recorded 42 starts. In a typical five-man starting rotation in 2024, pitchers averaged 30 appearances.
Despite McLain’s pitching success, to a segment of MLB fans, he’s an unknown. But McLain is a footnote that refuses to be forgotten.
Today, McLain, 81, keeps active by appearing at memorabilia shows signing trading cards. jerseys, balls, bats, and books. While others at his age may be slowing their schedules or bringing them to a halt, from his home base in Brighton, Michigan, McLain hits the road to meet his baseball public and gain new followers who know of him through record books and websites.
During a recent stop in “the Home of Baseball,” Cooperstown, New York, McLain “set up shop” in Doubleday Field parking lot.
Seated behind three folding tables just two village blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, McLain meticulously sets up his inventory on a Friday morning. Assisted by his longtime friend and traveling partner/driver Ty Emelander, McLain begins to shake hands and pose for selfies with fans of all ages almost before all his wares are in place. It appears that the last “Iron Arm” of baseball enjoys his place in MLB history almost as much as the fans are wowed when trading compliments with him.
“It’s a miracle that I’m still here,” McLain, who has battled health issues over the years, told The Epoch Times during Cooperstown’s induction weekend recently. “I have children, grandchildren, a great-grandchild, and my family is everything to me.”
The drive from Brighton to Cooperstown was 10 hours. Emelander, who lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., said they drove straight through to the Upstate New York village. McLain and Emelander have known each other for 30 years, and for the past 15 years have hit the collectors’ circuit as a duo.
“There isn’t a day that he isn’t recognized,” said Emelander, a successful high school baseball coach.
McLain enjoys his status in MLB lore. His enthusiasm doesn’t appear to be ego-driven, but rather grounded in his appreciation of the game. McLain tells of making it out to the Tigers’ home—Comerica Park, 12 to 15 times annually. From the Tigers club that in 1968 won 103 games and the American League pennant, finishing 12 games ahead of the second-place Baltimore Orioles, McLain keeps in touch the most with former teammate (and fellow pitcher) Jon Warden.
“The Tigers don’t promote their alumni. There is no alumni association. This is disappointing,” McLain said. “Everybody is spread out, so unless there is an anniversary celebration, we don’t see each other much.”
Back in April 2018, the Tigers had a 50th anniversary recognition of the 1968 club. They held a 25th anniversary salute in 1993, and in three years, it will be time for the 60th.
In demand by memorabilia show promoters, from his home in a town that is less than four square miles and has fewer than 8,000 residents, one of MLB’s pitching legends meets old friends, makes new fans, and remains as popular as politicians stumping for votes. Making eye contact and engaging in conversation with strangers soon to be pals, McLain represents his era of baseball with the flair of a respected statesman.
There’s no flaunting his place in MLB history on this day of greeting his public in Cooperstown. The record books tell the truth of his pitching dominance of a time gone by. Selling himself to audiences appreciative of baseball history, McLain offers up what they seek most—speaking with a bona fide MLB legend. For a price, McLain is the ultimate souvenir that keeps on giving.
