I was just reading about Denny McClain of the 68 Tigers. Denny won 31 games that year and was 1 - 2 in the World Series winning game six. Denny had a sore arm and was getting 3-5 cortisone shots per month. He received a cortisone shot for each game in the 68 World Series. Incidentally, 68' was the year of the pitcher. After the controversy of Roger Maris’s breaking the Babe's HR record, MLB increased the strike zone from the knees to the shoulders. 338 shutout were thrown and only one player (Yastrimski) hit over .300 during the1968 season. In 69' the strike zone was modified to increase offensive output and the mound was lowered from 15" to 10". McClain was traded to the Senators and he criticized manager Ted Williams because of the new strategy employed by the Senators for starting pitchers. Ted employed a 5-man rotation which was a new concept.
Just look how much baseball changed during the 60's? Should we put an asterik by McClains 31+1 WS victory because of all the cortisone shots?
I have game 1 of the 1968 World Series on a VHS tape from when the game was replayed on ESPN Classic. What made McLain unusual as a pitcher was an odd, high and sudden leg kick, causing a jerky delivery which threw hitters off and probably also fucked up McLain's arm. In that World Series game, Bob Gibson struck out a World Series record 17 batters. This included Willie Horton for the last out on a pitch that looked like a whiffle ball frisbee- it looked like it would hit Horton, and then floated over the outside corner as Horton flinched and stepped in the bucket. Tim McCarver, who was the catcher, said that Horton grunted anticipating the ball was going to hit him, flinched, and then the ball just barely hit the outside corner of the plate.
As I recall McLain was kind of wild that game, and may have been struggling with his control due to arm issues.
Several weeks earlier McLain had served up the legendary deliberately grooved pitch which Mickey Mantle hit for his last Yankee Stadium home run. McLain later admitted grooving the pitch and also to tipping Mantle that the pitch would be grooved, but pointed out that Mantle still had to supply the power and hit the ball out, which he did.'
Tigers were up 6-0 in the 8th inning, I believe, when that home run ball was served to Mantle. It was old school baseball. The Tigers knew they had the win and wanted Mantle to leave the game with some dignity and honor, as in truth he was terrible his last season with the Yankees.