Comment of the Day:  Denny McLain makes an appearance at ShysterBall

This morning I and some commentors fired a couple of missiles in the direction of Denny McLain. This evening, Denny — or someone claiming to be him, but I’m pretty sure it is him — fired back:

it is amazing to me that some of you toss these missiles as though thoughtlessness is an art. Please if nothing else get the facts straight and don’t be afraid of checking facts. Blogs are opinionslike some body parts! I know that you folks also have something else in mind since all of us have one of THOSE also. Entertainment folks that is what we try to do and to get you to think a little, a little emotion and disagreement never hurts anyone, as far as things that may have occurred 15 yrs ago check the facts, at least ck the facts and lastly, you know my baggage I wonder if any of you folks have any at all? I always wonder about folks who throw nasty insults without facts, their baggage remains in secret. Thank you for reading and your comments, we all make a few mistakes, it is human.talk to you soon!

Fair enough, Denny. And you’re right: the facts matter. For those of you who accuse before you write, here are a ton of facts on the life and times of Mr. McLain. I mean, I’d hate for someone not to have all of the reasons to fire missiles at Mr. McLain beforehand.


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Bob Tufts
14 years ago

I know the body part that I think of when I consider the life of Denny McLain!

Mark Armour
14 years ago

Although my name has been expunged for some reason, I wrote that piece for BP back in 2003.  I later did a bit more work and wrote a more substantial story here:
http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=2308&pid=9345

A fascinating pitcher to watch, and quite a life too.

Craig Calcaterra
14 years ago

Thanks, Mark, I just changed the link.  Credit where it is due, you know.

Mark Armour
14 years ago

Oh, I wasn’t looking for credit.  I just clicked the link, starting reading and said “wait, I wrote this”.  McLain is an amazing story.

Sara K
14 years ago

Hmm.  It sounds like Mr. McLain is more concerned about the comment CC made regarding his past than he is about the very real factuality and coherence issues in his post. If I may be so bold as to offer some advice (just in case he checks in): This lot couldn’t care less if you steal your elderly mother’s bingo money every Sunday so you can buy steroids for your fighting pitbull, so long as you write accurately and insighfully about baseball.  Or so I’ve heard it said in these parts…

Tigergirl
14 years ago

I was a teenager when the Tigers won the world series in ‘68.  I loved Denny McLain and always will.  He was a tremendous pitcher for the Tigers.  That’s what I remember most.  I wish him the very best.

Rob
14 years ago

I think the point that McLain is making, or if not it’s the point I’m making, is that now he has his own blog and is going to put opinions out.  If every blogger was judged on the opinions he made versus his past actions I’m sure there would be copious amounts of hypocrisy.  Most bloggers, however, don’t have the public history that McLain does.  Give the guy a break, people’s views are not static, they are fluid.  Take his opinions for what they’re worth, but to say he shouldn’t express himself because of long past incidents is a bit ridiculous.

Kevin S.
14 years ago

Perhaps, but in these two particular cases (hyperbolizing someone’s injuries into a crime he actually committed, and criticizing a manager for protecting a kid from his fate), he seems willfully ignorant of his own story.  Those who ignore history…

jwb
14 years ago

“[H]owever, anything other than animal cruelty and endangering the welfare of a child would probably be OK.”

Beating women is still frowned on, right?

The Rabbit
14 years ago

“Beating women is still frowned on, right?”
I’d say so…and, so I don’t get accused of sexism…I’ll say beating on men should probably be on the list, too.
You can just amend it to cruelty to living creatures and that should cover it.

Chuck
14 years ago

From McLain’s blog:

“they may have destroyed Bonderman (who stole $40 million dollars) when he was very young and now he is literally almost out of the game”

Yes: “who stole $40 million dollars”

That’s the wording he chooses. Wow.

Mark Armour
14 years ago

This chutzpah McLain was accused of on Craig’s initial post is completely consistent with McLain’s story.

I have read, I am proud to say, all *three* of McLain’s autobiographies.  In the first one (I think) he trashes Mickey Lolich by saying he had all the talent in the world but would let you down when it mattered most.  Think that one through for second.  In his last book (written after his second prison stay) he wrote about what kind of businesses he wanted to start.  WTF?  This is a man who was failed at every business he ever tried, including the illegal ones.  There are two things he was ever good at: pitching, and trading off on his fame.  I don’t begrudge him the latter at all—if he had retired and spent the last 25 years hosting talk shows and writing books, he would not have ruined so many lives.

Craig Calcaterra
14 years ago

Probably worth noting to everyone that, in my effort to confirm that this did, in fact, come from Denny McLain (it did), I exchanged a couple of emails with him in which he was quite polite and friendly. That doesn’t (and shouldn’t) change one’s feelings about the guy, but it does counsel a certain civility, I’d think.

Craig Calcaterra
14 years ago

Mark: to be clear—my “civility” comment wasn’t aimed at you, even if it came right after yours. Just in general. Your comment is right on the, um, Mark.

Mark Armour
14 years ago

Hey, I think I’d like the guy.  He is smart, funny, and could pitch.

The Rabbit
14 years ago

“If I may be so bold as to offer some advice (just in case he checks in): This lot couldn’t care less if you steal your elderly mother’s bingo money every Sunday so you can buy steroids for your fighting pitbull, so long as you write accurately and insightfully about baseball.”

In the interest of accuracy, I’d like to offer a correction.  This “lot” made some comments regarding Vick that lead me to believe that they might care if someone were feeding steroids to a fighting pitbull; however, anything other than animal cruelty and endangering the welfare of a child would probably be OK.

ecp
14 years ago

Well, McLain certainly right, we all make mistakes.  Unfortunately, when you make your mistakes on your blog, you open yourself to those “folks who throw nasty insults” to whom he refers.  I kind of thought this was a universally-accepted side of blogging, and that, if you blog, you know this.  Anybody who airs their thoughts publically is open to response, both positive and negative.

Michael
14 years ago

Found this site through some surfing around this evening. McLain? Wow. Brings up some funny memories. In 1975, he and catcher Jim Price agreed to play in the Inter-County Baseball League in southern Ontario with the London Majors. I was a junior at the time, but dressed with the senior team, playing some defence and pinch-running. They would never play road games – they’d only come to the Friday night games, and McLain would only play 1B – never pitched. I heard they got about $3K to show up! We averaged about 3500 fans per Friday night, so I suspect the team wasn’t taking a bath. I’ll never forget the two of them rolling in just in time for some batting practice, in a limo, with some fine young ladies in tow. Crazy times. The stories they would tell in the dugout were something. My brush with greatness, I suppose. Quite an experience.

Tim
14 years ago

As the song said, “There’s never been any like Denny McLain”.

Jack Marshall
14 years ago

I thought Craig’s original comment was pretty mild, but Denny’s response again reminds me, as I have been occasionally reminded by surprise visitors on my own site, that the famous and infamous have feelings too, and we sometimes have a tendency to be just a little more callous and mean when we are talking about someone who was or is well-known. It makes for more entertaining reading, but we still have to try to avoid hurting people just for the fun of it. (By the way, there is nothing inherently inappropriate or hypocritical about someone who has served time for an offense proclaiming subsequent disapproval of others who engage in a similar offense.  It’s called “learning.”)

Jason
14 years ago

“(By the way, there is nothing inherently inappropriate or hypocritical about someone who has served time for an offense proclaiming subsequent disapproval of others who engage in a similar offense.  It’s called “learning.”)”

But it’s not like Bonderman actually stole $40 million and McClain was saying that’s wrong.  He was hyperbolizing to try to make a point.

I think most people, after serving prison time for crime they say was a big misunderstanding, would be more careful with the words they choose.  Since accusing someone of a crime that they didn’t actually commit, even tongue in cheek, will only remind people who the real convicted felon is.