John Hiller

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16+23 innings. [54] He also struck out 87 batters in 70+23 inning pitched – giving him a career-high average of 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. [1] Hiller noted in late July: "I've never struck out people like this before." [54]

While pitching against Cleveland on July 25, 1975, Hiller "felt something tear" in his throwing arm and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. [55] [56] While trying to come back in September, Hiller reported that, although the pain had subsided, he could still feel a lump under his left arm where the injury occurred. [57] Despite playing only half the season, he led the team with 36 appearances and 14 saves and compiled a 2.17 ERA. [58]

1976–1980

In 1976, Hiller returned to the Tigers' spring training with a shaved head. Sports writers joked that Hiller's head was as smooth as his delivery and compared the new look to Fu Manchu or "a cross between Genghis Khan and Kojak." [59] [60] Hiller got off to a slow start in the early weeks of the 1976 season, holding a 1–3 record and a 3.47 ERA in late May. [61] [62] However, he then regained his form and won 11 of 15 decisions for the balance of the season; his 2.38 ERA was on par with the 2.34 ERA recorded by the team's rookie sensation Mark Fidrych, who won the 1976 Rookie of the Year award. [63] Hiller ranked fourth in the American League in games finished (46) and ninth in both adjusted pitching runs and adjusted pitching wins. [1] He closed the 1976 season with a rare start (his first since 1972) and threw a four-hit, complete-game shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers. [64]

In April 1977, the Tigers traded Willie Horton to the Texas Rangers for relief pitcher Steve Foucault. [65] Foucault edged out Hiller as the Tigers' stopper, [66] as Hiller was asked to pitch both in relief and as a spot starter. He started eight games and threw three complete games. However, his ERA jumped by more than a point to 3.56, and he compiled a record of 8–14 with only seven saves. [67] In late September 1977, doctors diagnosed Hiller with an enlarged liver, possibly caused by the intestinal surgery he received after his heart attack; doctors advised that he should never have another drink for the rest of his life. [68]

Hiller reclaimed his role as the Tigers' closer in 1978. He appeared in 51 games, all in relief, and his total of 46 games finished ranked sixth in the American League. [1] He led the 1978 Tigers with a 2.34 ERA and 15 saves. [69] The Tigers honored Hiller on June 25, 1978, with a John Hiller Recognition Day at Tiger Stadium. [70]

In 1979, Hiller had 43 relief appearances, but Aurelio Lopez (acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals before the season began) took over as the Tigers' closer as Hiller's ERA soared to 5.22. [71] Hiller played with pain in his left shoulder during the 1979 season, and his season ended on August 27 when he was placed on the disabled list. [72] Hiller believed that he injured his shoulder in mid-May while "messing around trying to throw a screwball." [73]

Hiller broke Hooks Dauss' team record of 538 games pitched. HooksDauss.jpg
Hiller broke Hooks Dauss' team record of 538 games pitched.

Hiller returned to the Tigers briefly in 1980, just long enough to break Hooks Dauss' franchise record of 538 games pitched. Hiller broke Dauss' record on April 29 and ended his career having appeared in 545 games as a Tiger. [74] He was the last member of Detroit's 1968 World Series championship team to remain with the club. During the 1970s, Hiller appeared in 426 games for the Tigers, nearly double the total of any other Detroit pitcher. [75]

On May 30, 1980, after finishing a clubhouse card game with teammates, Hiller called a team meeting and announced that he was retiring. The Tigers interrupted the game that night to announce Hiller's decision. Hiller stepped out of the dugout in street clothes and waved to the crowd. The crowd reacted with polite applause at the surprise announcement and then began chanting, "We want Hiller! We want Hiller!" until the game was interrupted to allow Hiller to step onto the field for a final bow. [76] Hiller told reporters after the game: "I just don't think I can compete here anymore. . . . I don't want to embarrass myself. I always said the hitters would let me know when it was time to retire, and they did." [76]

After his retirement, the Detroit Free Press paid tribute to Hiller, not on its sports page but on its editorial page:

"[W]hat sets the John Hiller story apart is neither the professional skill nor the personal grace and style that were his in such an abundant measure. Detroiters have a special affection for Hiller for what he had to overcome and for the dogged persistence with which he fought his way back from a heart attack. By will and discipline, he made himself a fit professional athlete again. He overcame." [77]

Hiller ended his career with a record of 87–76, a 2.83 ERA, 545 appearances, and 1,036 strikeouts in 1,242 innings pitched. [1] At the time of his retirement, his 125 saves ranked behind only Sparky Lyle (231), Hoyt Wilhelm (154) and Rollie Fingers (136) in major league history, and remained a Detroit Tigers club record until 1993.

Family, later years, and honors

Hiller married Janis Patricia Baldwin in 1965. [3] They had three children, including son Steve and daughter Wendy. [5] His first marriage ended in divorce in February 1985, and he married his second wife, Linette, later that year. [2] [78]

After retiring from baseball, Hiller returned to his home in Duluth, Minnesota. Hiller and his first wife had lived in Duluth since 1966. In 1982, he bought an abandoned farm near Felch in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and played baseball for the Felch Rangers. [79] He was appointed constable for Felch in 1983. [80] Hiller later lived for more than 30 years in Hermansville and then Iron Mountain, both in the Upper Peninsula. [81] [82]

He also supported himself with jobs selling insurance, owning a pet shop, operating a country store, and working as a Pepsi distributor. From 1985 to 1987, he returned to professional baseball as a minor league pitching coach for the Tigers. [78] [83] [84] His coaching career ended when he was diagnosed in 1988 with a blockage behind his right knee that had caused the arteries in his lower leg to deteriorate. Doctors recommended amputation, but Hiller declined. [81]

Hiller has been inducted into several halls of fame, including the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (inducted 1985), [85] Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 1989), [86] Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 1999), [87] and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 2017). [88] [89]

See also

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John Hiller
John Hiller 1975.jpg
Hiller in 1975
Pitcher
Born: (1943-04-08) April 8, 1943 (age 81)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 6, 1965, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
May 27, 1980, for the Detroit Tigers