April 23, 2003 When he was with the Mets, I gave him the name "TOO MUCH EATER" but then again the Orange and Blue has always had big boned hurlers (El Sid. December 8, 2006 We are going all the way!" The plan was apparently: Vail LF/RF, Kingman LF/RF/1B, Milner, LF/RF/1B for those three spots. June 30, 2019 He led the Tigers to their second last-place finish in their 76-year history. This has never happened before? January 12, 2011 The cabins are still there but what will these turn into next? HmmBaseball Reference.com is usually beyond redoubt, but I would say with almost unimpeachable certainty that Mickey Lolich weighed somewhere in the vicinity of 240 by the time he was huffing and puffing his way up the pitchers mound at Shea in 1976.Another awful trade, courtesy of M. Donald Grant, who couldn't wait to run Rusty Staub (coming off a team-record setting 105 RBI season) out of town, weeks after Mrs. Payson passed away. March 2, 2003 December 8, 2006 December 13, 2007 Take a look at his stats on baseball-reference and you will shake your head. But the facts are:Lolich spent 16 years in the Majors. Three bad starts on 8/3 and 8/13 as well as his next to last start on 9/15 is what really bloated his ERA, not that 3.22 even in the '70s was that shabby.Yes, he was far removed from his prime but to say he sucked is pretty short sighted and flies in the face of the fact that he pitched well enough to be a 12-15 game winner, but then this is the same year Seaver pitched Cy Young caliber ball and went only 14-11. For a fourth starter, on a four man rotation, Lolich was decent. Mike B The two 13-inning games didn't even count for complete games because they went 15 innings! Ramblin' Pete Mickey was a great pitcher but was not happy in New York. Raymond Malcuit April 27, 2013 Reading this brings back my memory of the trade that sent Rusty packing to Detroit. This has never happened before? God bless him wherever he is and good luck! To the guy who scored the game when Lolich gave up two homers to the no name pitcher- big deal? Mickey Lolich did not want to come to the Mets. October 18, 2008 I guess the idea that everyone loves a jolly fat guy is true. October 2, 2005 I looked him up in The Sports Encyclopedia 2002 and they have 6' and 210 lbs. He had a 3/4 delivery that thrived on the weight shift. As a 44-year-old with a beer belly, I can relate. Reading this brings back my memory of the trade that sent Rusty packing to Detroit. In his first three seasons, he compiled a 17-29 record in 82 games. September 12, 2002 August 7, 2002 May 7, 2013 Michael The Mets acquiring him for Rusty Staub was another trade made by M. Donald Grant out of spite for Staub's salary request. The Mets traded the best player they ever had for a bunch of stiffs. I recall one year where he had 121 RBI's. Staub a great fielder with a great arm? They were starting their descent into oblivion and the Staub trade was step in that direction. November 3, 2006 Shickhaus Franks Lolich struck out more American League hitters than any other lefty in the history of baseball- that includes Randy Johnson, etc. Mickey was a fantastic pitcher for the Tigers. OK it was a terrible trade. I look at his numbers as a Met and they're not bad. Lolich may have gone 8-13 in 1976 but Koosman did even worse the next two years (1977 and 1978). I still have it somewhere. When he was with the Mets, I gave him the name "TOO MUCH EATER" but then again the Orange and Blue has always had big boned hurlers (El Sid. In his first three seasons, he compiled a 17-29 record in 82 games. Mickey Lolich is one of my favorite players. As it is, he was traded to a team with a set of already existent aces- Seaver and Koosman. All of you New Yorkers are forgetting how the Tigers fared in this deal of Staub/Lolich. October 19, 2011 He struck out the first two batters he faced, Max Alvis and Sam McDowell. bob saunders Lolich committed to playing 2 years for the Mets, but then reneged on that promise. Talk show? Like Seaver and Koosman, Mickey had pretty meager run support throughout his career. Lolich was a good one, underrated and dominating at times. His three wins in the 1968 Series against the Cardinals were the apex of his career. Mickey had a lifetime 3.44 ERA and 2832 strikeouts. Too bad we waited until '76 to bring him in, although his numbers indicated a lack of run support. My memory is that while the Mets' front office had made dumb and abysmal trades in the past, this was one that just made no sense in any way, shape, or form. Raymond Malcuit -He fought in the Civil War, wounded, then received a commission from President Abraham Lincoln. March 22, 2005 (thankfully returning in '81). Mike B April 30, 2009 As for all the innings Lolich pitched in Detroit, in today's game 300 innings is comparable to two full seasons, what with pitch counts and constantly babying starting pitchers. In my opinion, there are only three candidates for worst trade in Mets history:1) Staub for Lolich 2) the Ryan trade 3) the Seaver tradeI believe the Seaver trade was the worst, for obvious reasons. Bob P Maybe Rusty was not in his prime when the Tigers got him, but the man could still swing the bat. The point is he made a bad team worse. Feat Fan Maybe when he was 15 years old he was 170, but at no point in his major league career was he ever 170. He made the all- star team 3 times, led the AL in wins once, shutouts once, complete games once, innings once, strikeouts once, and losses TWICE.He finished second (1971) and third (1972) in the Cy Young race, and he never finished higher than TENTH PLACE in the league in ERA (finished tenth in both 1971 and 1972).Baseball Reference lists among his top ten in similarity scores: Jerry Koosman, Jerry Reuss, Rick Reuschel, Luis Tiant, Vida Blue, and Joe Niekro.All of that tells me Lolich in his prime was a good pitcher, but nowhere near a HOFer. June 30, 2001 Mickey pitched to a poor 8-13 record but he also had a 3.22 ERA which is pretty damn good. How Mickey still had an arm when he pitched for us is amazing. Cut him some slack. Lolich was a newcomer that was a big loser, and he reminded us of how stupid the Mets management was for always going after fading superstars. He normally threw lots of pitches and completed a high percentage of his games. Joe was hit by a Bob Moose pitch to drive in the tying run, but the '76 Mets couldn't stand such success, as two singles and a double play grounder by future Mets coach Bill Robinson in the top of the 10th off Skip Lockwood gave the Bucs a 2-1 win. He may have left behind a fine legacy in Detroit but when he got to New York he stunk.You weren't happy with Rusty and we weren't happy with Lolich, so let's just call the trade a wash. Case closed. September 29, 2007 I recall one year where he had 121 RBI's. March 2, 2003 Mike B Its not Rustys fault the Tigers traded for hitting when they already had hitting. October 13, 2008 McLain got all the publicity but Lolich got the wins in post season 1968. Randy Tate Let me say that again, 376 and that's without a pitch count. God bless him wherever he is and good luck! Rusty has always been a fan favorite so if you're going to trade him it better be worth it, and to most of us Mets fans Lolich wasn't. April 27, 2013 He had terrific stuff. October 19, 2011 Raymond Malcuit Jr. Raymond Malcuit Jr. Did you boo him or make fun out of him? I recall one year where he had 121 RBI's. Bob But what can you expect when the team only averaged 3.4 runs for Seaver per start and 3.3 for Lolich? October 4, 2005 September 29, 2007 Lolich pitched fairly well with the Mets, in fact I recall a 2-0 shutout at Shea he pitched against the Cardinals in about two hours. Really? The Tigers had some great years back in the late 60's and early 70's- much like the Mets. I remember when M. Donald Grant traded Staub for Lolich he explained it to disgusted NY sports fans by saying something like "the team needs more speed. Although Mick was not the same pitcher in NY that he was in Detroit, everyone seemed to like the guy. Usually a bad trade doesn't reveal itself as bad until later when the player that came clearly is not working out. In his first full season 1964, Mickey Lolich went 18-9 an ERA of 3.26. But this one defied all logic from the beginning. Mickey Lolich was a great pitcher in the American League. I would put Rusty for Lolich in second place. When popularity declined these boats were sunk and used as fill on the west shore of Oak Lane in the '30s. May 8, 2003 He told the New York Press, he pitched with his head and arm not his abdomen. I wish the Mets had a pitcher today with a 3.22 ERA. But what can you expect when the team only averaged 3.4 runs for Seaver per start and 3.3 for Lolich? March 2, 2003 I used to think that Lolich sucked with the Mets, but after reviewing his stats and starts from that year, he was a damn effective #4 starter. Fact is Lolich was always overweight. He had terrific stuff. Koufax would have 175 by the All-Star Break. His era of 3.22 is only .09% more than 20-game winner Carlton for the Phils. (Note: others featured in that section were the Knicks' Toby Knight and his wife and Rangers enforcer Nick Fotiu and his very leggy wife and kids)I also had the unfortunate opportunity to score the game against the Phillies where pitcher Larry Christensen belted TWO home runs off Lolich on a hot Sunday afternoon. Koufax would have 175 by the All-Star Break. I still remember the Mets broadcast team trying to build him up in the eyes of the fans because he had been a Cy Young award winner. Man, he was a big one. October 13, 2008 Mickey did a few good games with the Mets as well as a couple shutouts. Mickey did a few good games with the Mets as well as a couple shutouts. Mickey loved his Harley. For a fourth starter, on a four man rotation, Lolich was decent. August 7, 2018 body would be a pretty slender person. In that same year he went 13, 13, 12, 11 and 10 innings in 5 games. Shari 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ", And what about the occasional Tiger fan who taunts him about his tummy? The point is he made a bad team worse. HmmBaseball Reference.com is usually beyond redoubt, but I would say with almost unimpeachable certainty that Mickey Lolich weighed somewhere in the vicinity of 240 by the time he was huffing and puffing his way up the pitchers mound at Shea in 1976.Another awful trade, courtesy of M. Donald Grant, who couldn't wait to run Rusty Staub (coming off a team-record setting 105 RBI season) out of town, weeks after Mrs. Payson passed away. Mickey was finished and Rusty still had about 8-10 years left, even though the last couple were solely as a pinch hitter. Donut Shoppe Patron May 9, 2002 Mickey Lolich so despised the Mets experience that he sat home and ate donuts for a year rather than play again in New York. Randy Tate God bless him wherever he is and good luck!
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