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04/19/2007
McLain's book talks about wild ride'I Told You I Wasn't Perfect' is third publication
McLain signs a baseball for Traverse City resident Pat Nemshick. TRAVERSE CITY — On the rollercoaster ride of life, you'll find Denny McLain sitting in the front seat, his arms raised above his head and his mouth wide open. McLain was never one to shun the spotlight during his baseball playing days, and the former Detroit Tigers star pitcher — whose fall from grace was as remarkable as his rise — is enjoying his return to center stage through the release of his new book, "I Told You I Wasn't Perfect.” The book is McLain's third autobiographical work, this one written along with friend and former radio co-host Eli Zaret. McLain appeared at Traverse City's Borders Books on Wednesday night and said his reasons for writing aren't what skeptics might suggest. "Eli chased me for two years to do it, and when I finally agreed I said, 'This has to be about what happens to a man and his wife when they lose a child,” said McLain, whose oldest daughter, Kristin, was killed in an automobile accident in March, 1992. "With psychological help, I finally figured out a few things. I still make mistakes, but I'm better than I was. "When something like this happens, you start to see how your life can fall apart,” he said. "Statistics say 60 percent of parents who lose a child get divorced. You'd think it would be the opposite of that, that something like that would pull you together. "But there's blame. There's a lack of responsibility.” McLain, 63, said he still struggles with guilt over the death of his daughter, who was killed shortly after moving back to the Detroit area from Florida. "I moved her up here from Tampa,” McLain said. "I still have that burden.” Actually, McLain carries plenty of regret about his past, in particular how much his actions harmed his family. In 1968, he was the toast of Major League Baseball. By 1973, he was out of the game, washed up and disgraced. And he was only 29. McLain was born in Chicago in 1944 and grew up in suburban Markham, Ill. He said his mother was uncaring and unaffectionate, and his father was a hard-drinking taskmaster who beat him with a belt on a regular basis while pushing him to become the player that he never was. McLain's father suffered a heart attack and died at age 36 on the way to one of McLain's high school games in 1959, and McLain admitted that he "stopped worrying about consequences” after that. When McLain was offered $17,000 to sign with the Chicago White Sox, he couldn't get away fast enough. In fact, he was on a plane and off to the minors only three hours after graduating from high school in June, 1962. McLain gave fans a glimpse of his future stardom when he pitched a no-hitter in his first professional start — throwing only fastballs because he hadn't yet developed a breaking pitch. It's the only no-hitter of his career. Since McLain had received a signing bonus of more than $4,000, in 1963 Chicago was required to include him on its big league roster for one year or place him on waivers. The problem was, the White Sox had three such "bonus babies” but only two spots available. They decided to keep Dave DeBusschere and Bruce Howard and cut McLain loose. The Tigers claimed him later the same day. After finally learning to throw a curve and adding a change-up to his high-powered fastball, McLain quickly rose to stardom. He was called up to the majors late in the 1963 season and won his first start. The 19-year-old also hit the only home run of his career in the 4-3 win over his old club, the White Sox. McLain went 4-5 in 1964, then reeled off records of 16-6, 20-14 and 17-16 the next three seasons. He also developed a sore shoulder, which the Tigers kept in check through a continuous stream of cortisone injections. McLain cemented his place in baseball history by going 31-6 with a 1.96 earned-run average in 1968, and the Tigers won their first World Series championship since 1945. There hasn't been a 30-game winner since. McLain won his second Cy Young Award in 1969, going 24-9 with a 2.80 ERA, but his star quickly lost its shine. McLain was suspended by commissioner Bowie Kuhn for half the 1970 season for his involvement in a gambling operation in Flint, then was later sent home for flashing a gun. He was traded three times in a two-year stretch — first to Washington in 1971, then to Oakland and on to Atlanta in 1972 — before his career ended in the spring of 1973. McLain wrote that his release from the Braves was so matter of fact that it "was like my mother saying, 'Your father died; go have dinner.' ” McLain's personal life wasn't much better. McLain owned two bars in Atlanta and his employees were stealing him blind, he said. The worst offender, he added, was his brother, Tim, who McLain fired after a near fist fight. McLain spent most of his time at the bar, trying to keep an eye on things. McLain's wife, Sharon, daughter of baseball Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau, soon grew tired of his late hours. McLain came home one morning and found everything gone, wife and children included. McLain tried radio. He tried sales. He hustled golf. Eventually, he got involved with the mafia in South Florida. By 1985, McLain had been arrested, tried and sentenced to 23 years in prison for racketeering, loan sharking, extortion and cocaine possession. McLain caught a break in September of 1987 when he was released from prison based on "judicial error.” He reconciled with his wife and began hosting a popular radio show in Detroit. Life, it seemed, was looking up. McLain's good fortune didn't last, however. Kristin's 1992 death sent him into a tailspin, but McLain accepted a promotional job with Peet Packing (Farmer Peet's) in Chesaning to "keep me out of the house, away from Sharon, and to further distract me from the constant sadness and guilt I felt over Kristin's death.” The company was drowning in debt, McLain said, and the Peet family wanted out. McLain, confident that he could save the company, took on the challenge and bought it despite the objections of his family. Not only did McLain's plan fail, he and his partner, Roger Smigiel, were charged and convicted for masterminding a fund transfer that wiped out the employee pension fund. In June 1997, McLain was sentenced to eight years in prison. Sharon started divorce proceedings the day after he left. McLain begged her forgiveness upon his release. He hopes the book will mend other fences, as well. "Ninety-nine percent of the mail I get is positive,” McLain said. "Very few people know what happened with the Peet matter. All of the Peet money was paid back, every ding dang dime. "Nobody stole anything. Until the very last moment, I don't think any one of the guys involved intended to hurt anybody.” McLain said he wasn't out to hurt anyone with the words in his book, either, despite the fact that he dishes out plenty of criticism — including some aimed at himself. McLain called ex-catcher and Tigers broadcaster Jim Price "one of the laziest, most untalented guys I'd ever seen in the major leagues,” and said former manager Mayo Smith was a drunk. He was also critical of former pitcher Earl Wilson's inability to finish games. He also said Mickey Lolich was jealous of him and Al Kaline dogged it at times. "I don't regret anything I wrote, but I regret how my words about Kaline have been interpreted,” McLain said. "I idolized Kaline. My heroes were Mickey Mantle, Ernie Banks and Al Kaline. "Imagine what it was like for me to meet Kaline and Rocky Colavito in the same moment the first time I walked into the Tiger clubhouse as a 19-year old kid. It's a moment I'll never forget. "I wasn't being nasty to Kaline, I was just reporting what I saw,” McLain said. "When there were 35-40,000 people in the ballpark, he was the best I ever saw. When there wasn't anyone in the ballpark, he hustled less. "Of course, 80 percent of Kaline was still better than 90 percent of the rest of the league.” McLain said Lolich, who he admits saved the '68 season by winning three games in the World Series, was a better pitcher with McLain around. "It was a great rivalry, and jealously fueled it,” McLain said. "It was the competition between us that made our engines go. "Mickey was a great pitcher. He had great stuff on a consistent basis. He never wanted to be outdone by me, and I've always felt he wasn't as good after I left.” McLain tells a funny story of how then-Tigers president Jim Campbell intimidated him into signing a contract after his 31-win season in 1968. McLain was hoping for a $100,000 contract and Campbell laughed it off. "He said, 'I'll tell you what I'll do. You win another 30 and I'll give you your $100,000.' And I said, 'If I win another 30 you'll give me a million,' ” McLain said. McLain threatened to sit out the season, so Campbell put it to him straight. "He said, 'You've got five minutes to sign this contract. After five minutes I'm taking $1,000 off for every minute that goes by,'” McLain said. "So I said, 'Give me that contract.' And he gave me an extra $5,000 for signing so quickly.” The next season, after McLain had racked up 24 more wins, he again asked Campbell for $100,000. "He said, 'You didn't win 30.' I said, 'Oh, come on, Jim,' ” McLain said with a laugh. McLain said, however, that Campbell was a good-hearted person who looked out for ex-ballplayers. In the book, McLain recalled that Campbell sent Sharon a check for $1,500 during the holidays in 1985 to help her out after McLain was sent to prison. "He cared about the old guys,” McLain said. "If you had a problem, he was there.” McLain said he earned $440,000 in total salary in 10 major league seasons, which is close to what the average major leaguer earns per season today. "If you won 30 games today, you'd be given majority ownership of the club,” McLain said. "If you won 30 games in Los Angeles or New York, you'd own the city.” McLain and his wife remarried after his second prison stint. He said Sharon "is next to saintdom.” "She's a winner. She's put up with a lot,” he said. "I can't get rid of her,” McLain said with a laugh. "She knows too much.” McLain said he still plays the piano and organ like he did during his playing days, but he doesn't perform in nightclubs because "I'm so old, I can't stay awake that late.” Life, he said, is good. His seven grandchildren keep him young, he said. "For the longest time in my life I wanted to please everyone,” said McLain, who still follows the Tigers closely. "At the same time, you realize you can't please everybody all the time. "You just concentrate on those people who like you and who love you.”
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