1960s Detroit Tigers infield was endearing

The Detroit Tigers of the 1960s had a decade very similar to our Minnesota Twins. For us of course it was our first decade, indelibly etched in our diamond memories. We weren't an expansion team though. We came here from Washington D.C. We came close to getting the Giants. Had that happened, Willie Mays' name would be hallowed here. And, Willie McCovey.
Now let's consider the Detroit Tigers. They were competitive through the '60s like our Twins. And like our Twinkies, they won a single pennant in the decade. They had the distinction, unlike our Twinkies, of winning the World Series. Our loss to the Dodgers was a sore spot that lasted a long time.
Detroit's glory year of 1968 coincided with when the pitching phase of the game was at its peak. It was "the year of the pitcher," a state of affairs that big league movers and shakers had to do something about. The trend began previous to that. I believe it had something to do with umpires deciding to call the high fastball a strike. Legend has it that this was how Sandy Koufax turned the corner and became a superstar. Pitchers had everything figured out by 1968. Don Drysdale of the Dodgers went wild for a time.
The Tigers had their considerable pitching assets on their way to No. 1. One exhibit is Denny McLain, a curiosity as a baseball personality. McLain reached 30 wins on the pitching rubber, phenomenal. He was a curiosity because you couldn't trust him further than you could throw a piano. It is a matter of public record that he was a criminal. It is highly unusual for a young man with the drive to reach the big leagues to also have a criminal inclination. McLain was that rare exception.
The other Detroit pitching mainstay was Mickey Lolich who had his own reputation, let's emphasize benign. Lolich had a reputation of being fat or overweight. This was when our standards for judging this were much tighter. John Lennon seemed to be affected when a writer called him the "fat Beatle." John Lennon! Seemed like a pretty ordinary physique to me.
We think nothing today of people being a little thick around the middle, doesn't even prompt comments or private thoughts. My youth and young adult years were much different. Tight-fitting clothes were in fashion like in "Starsky and Hutch."
The baseball writer Jim Bouton noted Lolich's reputation for being allegedly overweight. Bouton noted how heckling was exemplified by "one man to a pair of pants our there." Bouton had a teammate with the 1969 Houston Astros, Fred Gladding, who had the "fat" reputation.
All this was unfortunate. You might say "cruel" but those guys could blow it off I'm sure. Below the surface they probably seethed with resentment. Lolich's pitching clearly spoke for itself.
The '60s were a time when player mobility was much less than today. Think of a particular team back then, and certain well-established personalities are readily recalled.
 
Memorable guys in infield
Ah, the Detroit Tigers' infield! We remember Don Wert as the third baseman. He was nicknamed "Coyote." His tenure with the Tigers was 1963 to 1970. He was named "Tiger of the Year" in 1965. That was the year our Minnesota Twins won the pennant. Never a great hitter, Wert made his mark largely with his glove. He even outdid the magician-like Brooks Robinson of the Orioles in '65. Wert was tenth in A.L. MVP voting. Our Zoilo Versalles got the honor as shortstop.

I wasn't aware until researching recently that Wert was involved in one of those notorious "beaning" incidents. The potential for this type of injury puts a cloud over baseball. As kid fans we never realized the very real dangers of playing the game. Fans young and old have trouble realizing, IMHO, the long-lasting consequences of many sports injuries. We must wonder if these sports are worth it.
Wert was beaned by Indians pitcher Hal Kurtz in June of 1968. It was a game in which Wert's teammate Jim Northrup hit two grand slams! The pitch shattered Wert's batting helmet. He was carried from the field on a stretcher and spent two nights in the hospital, my goodness. Is any game worth this? It is said Wert was never the same hitter after that. This isn't to say he didn't still have his moments, like in the concluding stages of Detroit's banner year of 1968.
For America it was a tragic time as we had gotten into the sinkhole of the Vietnam war. We tried enjoying our usual diversions like baseball as best we could.
Wert had the game-winning hit in the game that clinched the pennant. He also singled in Detroit's final run of the '68 World Series. The run was scored by Dick Tracewski, another of the fondly remembered Detroit names of the era and an always-confounding one for people seated at the typewriter, before Google.
July of '69 saw Wert start a triple play in a game attended by President Nixon in Washington D.C.
Wert and the notorious McLain were traded to the Washington Senators in October of 1970. Wert was released in June of 1971.
 
You can't forget any of these guys
The rest of the Detroit Tigers infield is etched in my memory like Dick McAuliffe at shortstop. He is etched with his unconventional batting stance. The stance is hard to describe so let's just say it was oddball. However, all unconventional batting stances, like Carl Yastrzemski's, are misleading because they're really just cosmetic, or maybe they reflect superstition by the batter. That's because, at the instant the pitch comes in, the batter assumes the normal textbook position.
McAuliffe was an infield mainstay for those Tigers from 1960 to '73, quite the tenure. He led the American League in runs scored in the Tigers' apex year of '68. His bat resonated with 50 extra-base hits. He tied a major league record by not grounding into a double play all season. He was seventh in MVP voting. He socked a homer in he '68 World Series. He was traded to Boston in October of '73.
Lets' move to second base where the name I remember best is Jerry Lumpe. How can a name like "Lumpy" not be endearing? He already had a fair resume when he joined the Detroit crew. He was named to the 1964 All-Star team as a Tiger.
The unforgettable Norm Cash held down first base for the 1960s Tigers. He had the incredibly anomalous batting average of .361 in 1961. You'll note that '61 was when Roger Maris of the Yankees had his anomalous homer total of 61. Hmmm. Something was going on that season and it involved more than pitching being watered down by expansion, IMHO.
I remember Cash as one of those players just a notch below Hall of Fame caliber. A writer once suggested there be a special honor category for these guys: "Long and meritorious service." Cash was a clubhouse character. Unfortunately he battled an alcohol problem. He violated curfew rules. While never again reaching the heights he reached in '61, he was tremendously consistent, being a power merchant.
He had a very slow start in the team's banner '68 campaign, but he got hot late. He hit a three-run home run in September that gave McLain his 30th pitching win, a milestone that seemed unheard of. He homered to back Lolich in the fat guy's Game 2 World Series win. He sparked a Detroit rally with a single off Bob Gibson that led to the Game 7 win. The end of Cash's life came in a tragic drowning on Lake Michigan. The legend of Norm Cash lives on.
Yes, it was a storied infield for Detroit in the days of that city's prominence with carmaking. Maybe the Tigers deserved to win more than one pennant. Well, I'd argue the same about our Minnesota Twins.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com