Word: mclaine
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Despite his transgressions at Harlan and Clinton and his 5-8 record as a rookie pro, McLain came within one run of making it all the way to the White Sox in the spring of 1963. Unable to choose between Denny and another promising young pitcher, Bruce Howard, Chicago Manager Al Lopez decided to let them fight it out in an intrasquad game. Howard won 2-1 and got the job; McLain was put on waivers and claimed by Detroit for a piddling $8,000, an indignity that triggered the terrible McLain temper. He still gets mad when he thinks...
Back trouble and a proclivity for serving up home-run balls kept Denny a so-so pitcher for the next two years. Then, in mid-June of 1965, he was called in from the bullpen to relieve against the Boston Red Sox. McLain suddenly found what he calls "my rhythm, my groove." He struck out seven straight hitters to tie an American League record. He went on to win eight games in a row, and wound up the year with a mark...
Mutual Irritation. McLain has not had a losing season since. He was 20-14 in 1966, 17-16 last year. But if he had matured on the mound, he still had his problems off it. It was a regular occurrence for an angry McLain to bash his eyeglasses against the dugout wall (which is one reason why he now wears contacts). In Baltimore, when he was taken out of a game, he threw the ball at his manager and tossed his glove at the dugout. His control that day was so bad that the ball sailed over the dugout roof...
...brought Denny fortune?and constant problems. At home, the phone is forever ringing with calls from people pleading with him to visit their store, appear at their nightclub, endorse their product. On the road, Denny's current roommate, Shortstop Ray Oyler, has taken to answering the phone: "Mr. McLain's office." Denny is already scheduled for post-season appearances, playing the organ on the Ed Sullivan Show and at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Capitol is preparing a record album by the Denny McLain Quintet, with Denny playing such standards as Lonely Is the Name and a new song...
...extras that Denny brings in ought to add another $100,000 to the $35,000 salary the Tigers are paying McLain this year. And next year Denny plans to hit Tiger General Manager Campbell for a $65,000 raise?to an even $100,000. Yet despite the steady influx of cash, he continues to demonstrate his need for help by spending money as if it were going out of style. Just last month Denny was sued by Diners' Club Inc. and S. S. Kresge Co. for a total of $1,120 in long-overdue bills that he had simply forgotten...