1968 Detroit Tigers Win Pennant
Manager Mayo Smith Helps Create Comebacks and McLain's 31 Wins
This incredible "Year of the Tiger" was an unforgettable saga in Detroit Tigers' baseball lore. Smith came up with answers that bordered on the bizarre and calmly watched comebacks arise from adjustments. After star rightfielder, Al Kaline, the heart and soul of Tigerdom, went down with a broken arm in late May, the manager showed no sign of anxiety, and his club rose up to challenges time after time to win, in particular with McLain on the mound. The leading, but controversial, hurler came off the hill victorious in an astounding display of command on 31 occasions.
Early Season Break -- Kaline's Arm
A pause, a hush, came over the entire city of Detroit on May 25 when veteran leader Kaline stepped up to the plate and caught a stinging, high fastball on his right arm, his mightily feared throwing arm. The pitcher was Oakland (franchise changed to Oakland, California from Kansas City in 1968) Athletic Lew Krausse, a 25-year-old who had joined the Athletics in 1961. His pitch had broken the throwing arm of the best rightfielder in the league.
Kaline was to miss the next 50 games.
Pennant Belongs to The Tigers
It was an appropriate comeback win at home on Sept.14 that gave McLain his 30th win, and likewise, with the pennant on the line on Sept.17 in Detroit when a combination of a Tiger win and a Baltimore loss (to Boston) would result in the pennant flying over Tiger Stadium, the Tigers came from behind.
McLain had relinquished two bombs to Oakland's Reggie Jackson, and the Tigers trailed the Athletics, 4-3 going to the bottom of the 9th. Then Kaline pinch hit for McLain and drew a walk. The drama continued as Mickey Stanley singled, and Kaline flew to third, then scored on a throwing error. Horton singled, Stanley scored, and McLain jumped for joy, number 30 in his pocket.
In the 9th inning on Sept.17, the Tigers, with two outs, were knotted with the New York Yankees, 1-1, and had Kaline on base ready to dance home with the winning run. It was Wert, hitting .200, at the plate. The third baseman took his turn as Tiger hero. His perfectly stroked single plated Kaline with the pennant-winning score.
For Al Kaline to be the one on base and score the pennant-winner could not have been any more appropriate for the 1968 season. Having joined the Tigers as a teenager, aged 18, in 1953, "Mr. Tiger" was putting the finishing touches on his best years and entering a long twilight that would cap a superlative career spent entirely in Detroit.
(Note: References for BAH articles on the 1968 Detroit Tigers -- The Tigers and Their Den, John McCollister; forward by Al Kaline -- The Baseball Encyclopedia, 2005 Edition -- The World Series, A 75th Anniversary, Edited by Joseph L. Reichler)
