Denny McLain: A Long, strange trip it's been

[JetCane]

NY Post

Kevin Kernan

October 22, 2006 -- DETROIT - Denny McLain was the first major leaguer I ever met. It was 1968. I just turned 15. He was on his way to 31 victories, the last pitcher to accomplish the feat.

McLain was a gentleman that day outside the press gate at Yankee Stadium. Later that season, he would serve up Mickey Mantle's 535th home run, reserving a place in Yankees fans' hearts forever. Life has been a roller-coaster ride ever since for the right-hander, who has seen more than his share of trouble. In 2003, he was released from prison after serving six years after being convicted of stealing $3 million from a pension fund of a meat packing company.

With his Tigers back in the limelight and back in the World Series for only the second time since '68, McLain has gotten his life back together. He's in the telecom business now with his brother-in-law.

"We sell wholesale and domestic long distance," says McLain, who remarried his wife Sharyn, the daughter of Hall of Fame shortstop Lou Boudreau, in 2003 after they were divorced during his time in prison. "It's an exciting game."

Make no mistake, Denny McLain is 62 but can still sell. Over that two-year span from 1968-69, McLain was the best pitcher in baseball, winning 55 games and losing only 15.

"Those two years were easy," McLain says. "In '69, I had nine shutouts. My control, my velocity, my curveball were never better. Johnny Sain was the best pitching coach I've ever had. No one else makes a pimple on his butt."

McLain's biggest loss came in 1992 when his daughter Kristin, 26, was killed in a car accident.

"It never goes away; it's an every day occurrence," McLain says, noting Kristin was killed when her Chevy Blazer came over a hill and ran into a truck that was parked across both lanes of the road. Her vehicle was then hit by a pickup truck. "There is something at least 20 times a day that reminds you of better times with her.

"She was the leader of the family, she was full of intensity, just like me. She and I had years of Monopoly together," the father says. "She managed the other kids to make sure things were done, just like her mother, incredibly responsible.

"It took 10 years to move on. For 10 years, I wanted to find the truck driver and kill him," McLain says. "While the crash was horrific, she actually died from the fire. What happens if she is not coming over the hill that night? Is it the next guy that hits the truck? That truck was in the wrong place for 30 seconds and it ended her life."

The family was torn apart by the accident. "The other kids went their way, I went my way, Sharyn went her way. It took a long time for us to meet again at the same place," McLain says.

There was a void he couldn't fill.

"You end up getting in deals that aren't the right kind of deals, not illegal, but just things to do," he explains. "I've been lucky and unlucky in some cases, every lunatic in the world who's got a deal has always been able to find me."

McLain says the plan to revive the failing company, Peet Packing, simply went awry for himself and a business partner.

"We went in there with nothing but honorable intentions and by the way, they got every dime of their money back, they got all the penalties paid and here's the biggest thing, no one ever missed a pension check," McLain says. "Nobody took the pension, the pension was something like $14 million. We took $3 million and put it into cash flow. If somebody was going to rip the company off, wouldn't they have taken $14 million? Nobody made a dime. There wasn't anything out of line, no matter what they say."

McLain, who is writing a book about his life that is due out next April, found himself in the same prison as John Gotti Jr.

"We were at Valhalla together for about nine or 10 months," McLain says. "I ate with him, I played cards with him, I watched TV with him. I don't know the other side of him, but you would never ever meet a nicer kid in your life. He was respectful, kind to everybody, just a terrific kid."

The McLain family is doing well now, although Denny says his weight remains a problem. He is somewhere over 300 pounds. The children are grown up. Denny is 39, Timmy is 37 and Michelle is 35. McLain and Sharyn spend a lot of time cheering on grandson Mark Lauzon, a high-school hockey goalie.

"I've got a superstar," McLain says. "I'm proud of him because he's also a good student and he cares about his two little sisters."

McLain thinks back to 1968 like it was yesterday and the Tiger Stadium home-run pitch he served up to Mantle, the nudge Mantle needed to pass Jimmie Foxx. "Mickey was my idol growing up," McLain says. "The first pitch he took, the second pitch he took. He sent out the catcher just to make sure I was going to do it again. The third pitch I threw in the same place, they were all on an arc, they were about 50 miles per hour, you still got to hit the ball, and Mickey fouls off the third pitch down the right-field line.

"Then I yell down at him, 'Where do you want the damn ball?'

"He puts his hand out about belt high and a little bit on the inside part of the plate. I give up 35 home runs a year, that's not difficult for me," McLain says with a laugh. "I throw the next pitch on an arc, right there and he hits a line drive into the right-field upper deck. It was a terrific moment for all of us.

"But if the game was 2-1, I would have struck out Mickey."

The next batter was Joe Pepitone. "I got a 6-2 lead," McLain says. "Pepitone steps into the box and says, 'Hey, give me one of those too.'

"I threw the next pitch right behind his head, all you saw were his backside and elbows flying all over the place."

About a year ago, McLain was at a card show in Dallas. "I'm signing and I look down the line about 20 people and I tell the guy sitting next to me, 'If I didn't know better, that's Mickey Mantle in line.'

"Turns out it was both of Mickey's sons in line. They must have spent 30 minutes in line, then they sat down with me awhile and told me about their mom and how grateful they were for the home run, how their mom always wanted to say thank you. It was an awesome experience. I had tears in my eyes."

Mickey and Denny could have been teammates.

"I was going to sign with the Yankees in 1962," McLain explains. "The day we were going to make a decision, either the White Sox or the Yankees, both scouts came to the house. The Yankee scout came first and then the White Sox scout came a couple of hours later.

"The only reason my mother would not let me sign with the Yankees, while he drove up in a beautiful black Cadillac, he had a hole in the bottom of his shoes. That was the only reason.