Rest In Peace Mickey Lolich

With 207 wins in 13 seasons, Mickey Lolich was a true legend in Detroit. With both a wins crown and a losses crown (in consecutive seasons no less,) Lolich was a workhorse who anchored the Tigers starting rotation for more than a decade. He passed away recently and we'll miss him.

Now you may ask why I chose a Mets' card instead of a Tigers card. It's quite simple, due to me being seven years-old in 1976, this is the Lolich card I remember most. Despite him having only one season in New York and winning only eight games, my best memory of him is this card.

Some ask why would the Tigers trade their ace. Especially Tigers' fans. There were likely many reasons including the need for a player of the caliber of Le Grand Orange, Rusty Staub, Lolich's advanced age and his 39 losses over the previous two seasons, and the Tigers not wanting to pay him while Mets were more than willing to give him a raise.

After spending just one season in New York, Lolich would spend two season in San Diego appearing in 47 games with only seven starts. He had a solid although short season with the 1978 Padres ending the season with a 1.56 ERA over 20 appearances thanks to his new knuckleball. Upon retiring from MLB, he ran his doughnut shops in Michigan until the late 1990s.

As I'm aging, I'm seeing more and more players from my youth passing on. It's truly difficult because as a young baseball fans, the players seemed larger than life. Mickey Lolich is another of those players, and for that reason, he will always be a Baseball Card Memory. Rest In Peace, Mickey!