There are great Octobers, and then there is 1968, when Mickey Lolich bent the World Series to his will.
Lolich, who died Wednesday at age 85, authored one of those moments that feel almost impossible now — workloads that defy modern caution, performances that look less like strategy and more like sheer power of will. Lolich’s Fall Classic with the Detroit Tigers against St. Louis lives in that space. Three starts. Three complete games. Three wins.
Game 2 set the tone. Game 5 pushed the series to the brink. And then came Game 7 — on two days’ rest — when Lolich walked out like it was nothing.