Denny McLain
The last man to win 31 games in a season wasn't supposed to be particularly dominant — and the numbers bear that out. McLain's career 3.39 ERA translates to exactly league average over his decade-long run, making his 1968 masterpiece all the more remarkable.
That magical summer saw McLain become the first pitcher since 1934 to reach 30 wins, finishing 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA that was 52% better than the league norm in baseball's second dead-ball era. He rode that performance to both the Cy Young and MVP awards, capping Detroit's World Series championship season.
McLain's brilliance burned bright but brief. His career effectively ended at 28, making him one of baseball's greatest flashes in the pan. The 31-win season remains untouchable in the modern game — a relic from when starters threw 40 complete games and the baseball establishment still believed one man could shoulder a pennant race.
Career · Hitting
10 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | DET | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | .200 | .967 | — |
| 1964 | DET | 20 | 37 | 0 | 2 | .135 | .293 | — |
| 1965 | DET | 33 | 74 | 0 | 3 | .054 | .178 | — |
| 1966 | DET | 38 | 93 | 0 | 5 | .183 | .429 | — |
| 1967 | DET | 38 | 85 | 0 | 0 | .118 | .256 | — |
| 1968 | DET | 44 | 111 | 0 | 4 | .162 | .359 | — |
| 1969 | DET | 42 | 106 | 0 | 8 | .160 | .348 | — |
| 1970 | DET | 14 | 31 | 0 | 0 | .065 | .161 | 23 |
| 1971 | WS2 | 33 | 58 | 0 | 7 | .103 | .316 | 46 |
| 1972 | ATL | 20 | 16 | 0 | 0 | .125 | .347 | 52 |
| Career | 285 | 616 | 1 | 31 | .133 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
10 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | DET | 3 | 21.0 | 2 | 1 | 4.29 | 81 | 22 | 1.714 |
| 1964 | DET | 19 | 100.0 | 4 | 5 | 4.05 | 88 | 70 | 1.210 |
| 1965 | DET | 33 | 220.3 | 16 | 6 | 2.61 | 134 | 192 | 1.071 |
| 1966 | DET | 38 | 264.3 | 20 | 14 | 3.92 | 90 | 192 | 1.169 |
| 1967 | DET | 37 | 235.0 | 17 | 16 | 3.79 | 87 | 161 | 1.200 |
| 1968 | DET | 41 | 336.0 | 31 | 6 | 1.96 | 152 | 280 | 0.905 |
| 1969 | DET | 42 | 325.0 | 24 | 9 | 2.80 | 129 | 181 | 1.092 |
| 1970 | DET | 14 | 91.3 | 3 | 5 | 4.63 | 84 | 52 | 1.401 |
| 1971 | WS2 | 33 | 216.7 | 10 | 22 | 4.28 | 81 | 103 | 1.408 |
| 1972 | ATL | 20 | 76.3 | 4 | 7 | 6.37 | 51 | 29 | 1.546 |
| Career | 280 | 1885.9 | 131 | 91 | — | — | 1282 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.