Peter,

Who was only the second shortstop to win a Gold Glove as a rookie?

Hint: #1 He was drafted in the first round out of high school.

Hint: #2 He became the minor leagues’ first 20-homer, 50-steal player since Hall of Famer Andruw Jones did it.

In Memoriam question answered:

Q. Which former teammate of Eddie Mathews, Tom Seaver and Ozzie Smith was the last non-knuckle baller to pitch more than 375 innings in a season in the Live Ball Era?

Hint: #1 He retired with the most career strikeouts of any American League left-handed pitcher.

Hint: #2 He selected a highly propitious occasion for his first career home run.

Hint: #3 A local record label commissioned a 45 rpm record to commemorate his heroics.

Hint: #4 He was once one half of the most prolific starting battery in history.

Hint: #5 Blink and you’ll miss his Hollywood debut.

Hint: #6 He pitched in what the most heavily-attended Opening Day game in American League history.

Hint: #7 Riding a motorcycle to the stadium every day was not his only relationship with that particular mode of transportation.

Hint: #8 He was right-handed in all aspects of his life, eating, writing, etc., except for pitching.

Hint: #9 He famously opened and operated a successful donut shop after he left the game.

Hint: #10 He served in the Air National Guard during the1967 Detroit riots.

Hint: #11 He is one of an amazing set of seven major league players who remained teammates for eleven consecutive seasons. 

A. MICKEY LOLICH  [SABR Bio]

– Ans. Lolich pitched 376.0 innings in 1971. He was a teammate to Mathews in 1967 & 1968 w/DET;. Ozzie Smith was with him in San Diego in 1978 & 1979; & he and Seaver were together on the staff of the 1976 NYM.

– #1 Until surpassed by CC Sabathia in 2019, Lolich’s total of 2,679 Ks was the most-ever by an AL southpaw.

– #2 In the 3^rd inning of game 2 of the 1968 World Series, Lolich provided the only extra run he’d need in the game by connecting with a high fastball from STL’s Nelson Briles for his first, last & only home run of his entire 16-year major league career in his CG 8-1 victory.

– #3 The politically-incorrectly-titled song was “Roly Poly Mickey Lolich”.  It was produced by Marquee Records and actually reached #20 on the Detroit charts in the fall of 1968. You can listen here.

– #4 Lolich & catcher Bill Freehanstarted as batterymates 324 times between 1963 and 1975. Their record was edged by Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina in 2022.

– #5 Cast as Security Guard #1, Lolich screams his single line of, “Who the hell are you?” in the 1977 sci-fi horror film “The Incredible Melting Man”. Watch Mickey’s two-second total screen time starting at the 0:02 mark of this 8-second clip. 

– #6 Pitching in front of an AL Opening Day record 74,420 fans on 07-April-1973, Lolich’s Tigers fell to Gaylord Perry and his Cleveland club, 2-1.

– #7 As a toddler, he one day tipped a motorcycle over  onto himself and his left arm and shoulder were severely injured. He wore a cast on his left arm all that summer.  When the cast came off he performed exercises to strengthen the torn muscles & emerged a southpaw.

– #8 Was that a blessing? His career record seems to say yes.

– #9 Read more about Lolich the baker& his pastry success here. Go to the paragraph titled “Life After Baseball”. It was more than just donuts.

– #10 Many Tigers were involved in helping to calm an angry populace that summer.

– #11 Lolich’s enduring teammates from 1964 through 1974 include Norm Cash, Bill Freehan, Willie Horton, Al Kaline, Jim Northrup & Mickey Stanley.

FCR – Terry Gans, San Carlos, California

A big thanks goes to Dave Raglin for helping assemble this I.M. on Lolich.

~ D. Bruce Brown