SEPTEMBER 14, 1968 | DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers won his 30th game of the year on this date in 1968. The Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4. Reggie Jackson‘s second home run of the game had put the A’s ahead 4-3. The Tigers scored two in the bottom of the ninth to win and give McLain the victory. The tying run scored by Al Kaline who had pinch hit for McLain.
Nobody has won 30 games since McLain did it over 40 years ago, and you have to go back to Dizzy Dean in 1934 for the last time it had been done before McLain.
Nineteen sixty-eight was the year of the pitcher. McLain finished with 31 wins, 28 complete games and an ERA of 1.96. In the National League, St. Louis Cardinals‘ hurler Bob Gibson finished the season with a 1.12 ERA and a remarkable 13 shutouts on his way to a record of 22-9. Starters today get multi-million dollar contracts for winning 13 games in a season. Gibson went that many games without allowing a runner to score.
CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
September 14, 1968 box score & more
