Word: mclaine
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Every day, in every way, Dennis Dale McLain, 24, works overtime to bolster his growing reputation as an antic oddball. But out of his restless energy he has also managed to build another kind of record entirely. When he is not cracking wise or acting up, Denny McLain throws baseballs for the Detroit Tigers. In a summer when pitchers are dominating the big-league game, Denny is, in fact, dominating the pitchers. A few fans still call him "Super Flake" or "Mighty Mouth," but the sneers stop when he steps up on the mound. This season, as never before, Denny...
...earned runs, or an average of 1.95 per nine-inning game. Last week, against the Minnesota Twins, he scattered nine hits, struck out twelve, and coasted to an 8-3 victory?his 28th of the year against only five losses. With perhaps five starts still ahead of him, McLain has already surpassed the best single-season performances of Carl Hubbell, Bob Feller, Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford and Sandy Koufax. No one has approached his performances in 16 years, and just two more victories will make him the first 30-game winner since Dizzy Dean turned the trick in 1934. These...
Equally important, the Tigers have been getting the breaks. Last week the Baltimore Orioles touched McLain for two runs in the first inning, but the Tigers tied it up, went ahead 4-2 in the second. In the third, with two men on base and no one out, Baltimore's Boog Powell smashed a line drive straight at Denny. It might have put the Orioles ahead. Instead, in pure self-defense, Denny caught the ball and turned a sure hit into the beginning of a triple play...
...more such breaks and it will all be there for Denny McLain?30 victories, the World Series, that five-figure bonus check, more endorsement money, more of everything. And for McLain, it will be none too soon. "I want what I want now," he says. "I don't expect to live to 40. My wife keeps telling me to slow down. But I can't slow down. I just live too fast. My father died at 36. His father died at 36. And his father died at 32. I'm in a little better shape than my father...
Gift of God. It all happens sooner now. Denny McLain is only 24. And not since blue-bearded Sal Maglie, who used to point his glove like a pistol at the batter's heart during his follow-through, has there been an angrier, more arrogant or more confident man on the mound. A chunky, 5-ft. 11-in. 190-pounder, McLain stands there stiff-backed, briefly fingering the resin bag before throwing it violently to the ground. Like a high-school wise guy, he tilts his cap so far down over his eyes that he has to cock his head...